A former Lebanese cabinet member suggested in a recent televised interview that Israel was behind incidents of Quran burning in Europe.
Dr. Adnan Al-Sayyed Hussain, who currently serves as the President of Lebanese University, made the comments during a July 21, 2023 show on which aired on Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV. The interview was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
"When a reprehensible act like the degradation of the holy Quran, takes place in a Western, or European country, or in any other country in the world, one suspects a direct Zionist background, because the Zionists infiltrate into positions... Even if it is done under the guise of Islam, Christianity, or any other religion – or sometimes under a Western or secular title – the goal is to denigrate the image of Islam and generate strife, because the Jews make it their business to," asserted Hussein.
"Allah warned us, not just in the Baqarah chapter of the Quran, but in most chapters of the Quran, against traps laid by the Jews, from the days of Moses until the Day of Judgement. This is very dangerous," he added.
"I would like to point out that the holy Quran distinguishes between the Jews as People of the Book and the Christians as People of the Book. We must not lump the Christians with the Jews in this respect," continued Hussein.
"I believe that there are Israeli-Zionist hands behind these attacks," he said, and when asked what the purpose of these attacks would be, replied, "To cause strife and destroy societies. Everything that is happening... Any internal strife in any country... Examine the past 100 years, since World War I and to this day, and you will see Zionist hands behind all cases of strife."
Recent incidents of Quran burning in both Sweden and Denmark have caused an uproar in the Muslim world.
Hundreds of rioters protesting the burning of the Quran in Sweden recently stormed the Swedish embassy in Iraq and set the building on fire.
A similar protest was held outside the Swedish Embassy in Tehran, during which demonstrators called for the expulsion of the Swedish Ambassador to Iran.
Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen recently said the government will seek to make it illegal to desecrate the Quran or other religious holy books in front of foreign embassies.
Sweden similarly said it was examining legal and legislative possibilities to ensure a ban on the desecration of holy books throughout the country.