Israeli Desecration of Holy Quran Constitutes Highest Form of Islamophobia, Expert Says
“It is extremely insensitive and disrespectful to commit such provocative acts of blasphemy,” Iqball Jassat told IQNA on Tuesday after Israeli settlers went on a violent rampage in the occupied West Bank recently, ripping the pages of the Holy Quran and vandalizing a mosque.
He added, “Crimes of this type constitute the highest form of Islamophobia.”
Following is the full text of the interview:
IQNA: As you know, a group of settlers stormed the village of Urif south of the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank. The attackers then forced their way into a local mosque and vandalized it before ripping the pages of a copy of the Muslim Holy Book and throwing it into the street. They also vandalized a mosque. What is your take on such acts of sacrilege?
Jassat: It is extremely insensitive and disrespectful to commit such provocative acts of blasphemy. The defilement of the Holy Quran as well as vandalization of the mosque, is a racist statement of hate against Muslims and Islam.
It demonstrates that Zionist settlers who in most cases are backed by the settler regime's armed forces, conform to savagery and mindless thuggery encouraged by their racist right-wing leaders.
Crimes of this type constitute the highest form of Islamophobia.
IQNA: The Israeli regime continues its aggression against Palestinians amid the West’s silence and support. What consequences could such despicable acts have?
Jassat: It is precisely due to the protection provided by America and the West as a whole, that the settler regime continues to escalate its savagery against Palestinians.
Zionist leaders such as Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and the rest believe that alliance with the West as its colonial outpost in the heart of the Muslim world, grants them the license to commit horrendous human rights violations, with impunity.
The regime is mistaken to believe that while there may not be any moves by the West, America in particular, or the United Nations to sanction and punish it, there certainly will be consequences.
Pressure on the International Criminal Court to remove its blindfold and pro-Israeli bias has intensified in many parts of the world by Palestine solidarity movements.
In addition, many organizations including ours in South Africa, have undertaken lawfare as a means to demand justice and accountability.
Most crucial of course is the mobilization of Resistance movements within the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
Armed Resistance to overcome and defeat Zionism is a direct consequence of the apartheid regime's incremental genocide.
IQNA: Don’t you think that the time has come to take a serious and unified Islamic position towards this entity that continues to commit the most heinous crimes against Palestinians?
Jassat: A unified Islamic position in solidarity with Palestine is long overdue. Muslims need to accept that the struggle waged by Palestinians is not confined to nationalist ideals. The freedom struggle is in fact on behalf of the entire global Muslim Ummah.
Iqbal Jassat is an executive at the Johannesburg-based Media Review Network (MRN), a socio-political advocacy group that concerns itself with media and political analysis.
