Baghdad: A wave of anger and condemnation after burning of a copy of the Holy Qur’an by Edwin Wagensveld, spokesman for the far-right Pegida movement in the Netherlands, in front of the Amsterdam City Hall on Thursday evening, sparked a wave of anger and condemnation.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Edwin Wagensveld is known for his extremist anti-Islam positions. This act coincided with controversial statements in which he claimed that the burning of the Holy Qur’an came in response to what he described as “increasing pressure” following the previous incident of burning the Israeli flag.

This incident sparked widespread resentment in political and popular circles in the Netherlands. Dutch MP Ismail Abbasi described the incident as “blatant incitement to hatred,” noting that the burning of the Qur’an represents an attack on the dignity of more than one million people.

For her part, Dutch photojournalist Annette de Graaf criticized Wagensveld’s actions, describing them as “cowardly,” adding that the city of Amsterdam must bear responsibility for facilitating this act. The journalist demanded that Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema provide public answers regarding this incident, especially since she had previously condemned the burning of the Israeli flag.

It is worth noting that this is not Wagensveld’s first incident. He had previously announced his intention to organize a demonstration on March 20 in Arnhem under the slogan “Islam is no better than Nazism,” just prior to his scheduled trial.