British teachers who focus on faith and religion referred to as latest assaults on the Muslim holy guide Quran in Scandinavian international locations “extremist acts” which should be prevented.
Alison Scott-Baumann, a professor of society and religion on the Center for Islamic Studies on the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and David Thomas, a professor of theology and faith on the University of Birmingham, spoke to Anadolu Agency (AA) concerning the rising Islamophobic assaults in Scandinavian international locations, particularly in Sweden and Denmark.
Scott-Baumannn acknowledged that the acts of burning the Quran in Scandinavian international locations are a results of the impact brought on by the discourses of politicians and emphasised that these discourses are fed by the thought of “creating enemies in society” by Nazi thinker Carl Schmidt.
“A democratic government should be able to tell the difference between free speech and deliberate provocation. This is an act of provocation,” she stated.
She recalled the EU’s determination that “acts that incite violence are not freedom of expression but illegal acts.”
Despite this, Scott-Baumann emphasised that Scandinavian international locations see themselves as “privileged” by way of freedom of expression.
“These are, I think, in any civilized country, these are illegal acts,” she stated.
Creating enemy
Nazi thinker Schmitt stated that with a view to obtain a peaceable society, it’s crucial to determine an inner enemy to be hated. “This is the current situation” within the Nordic international locations, Scott-Baumann stated.
She added that if society creates an enemy individuals will direct their hatred in direction of the fabricated enemy, relatively than the federal government.
She underlined that tougher to resolve is the difficulty of social media, exhibiting it as another excuse why Quran burnings are so efficient as such messages unfold in seconds.
Quran burnings are positively ‘extremist acts’
“These are definitely extreme actions. It’s not easy to know the precise motivation of the perpetrators. But clearly, they are people who are anti-Islamic for whatever reason, and who knew that to perform this action of burning the Quran itself will provoke a reaction,” Thomas stated.
Stating that the condemnation of the assaults on the Quran all around the world, together with the British authorities, can be comprehensible, he stated: “The Quran being what it is for Muslims, much more than a book … it is understandable why Muslims should feel so insulted, and why the perpetrators decided to do this particular action.”
Asked whether or not governments ought to cross legal guidelines to forestall assaults on non secular texts, he stated that it’s “very difficult “to do this as a result of once you cross a regulation as a authorities, there could also be some implications in that regulation that you just can not foresee.
“It requires a lot of discussion and thinking,” he added.
Recent months have seen repeated acts of Quran burning and desecration by Islamophobic figures or teams, particularly in northern European and Nordic international locations.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
