Beirut [Lebanon], July 30: The leader of Hezbollah's armed forces in Lebanon called on Muslims to punish those who blaspheme the Koran if the authorities do not take action.
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah , made the appeal in a video sent to tens of thousands of people who gathered in the Lebanese capital Beirut on July 29 for the Shia Muslim day to remember the death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Imam Hussein. Prophet Mohammed, according to AP
Hezbollah leader Nasrallah often uses religious holidays to send messages to supporters. During the event on July 29, Mr. Nasrallah criticized the recent burning or blasphemy of the Koran in several European countries.
Nasrallah urged Muslims to wait for the results of an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Baghdad (Iraq) on July 31. A meeting of the 57-member organization was convened to discuss how to respond to the Koran burnings.
According to Nasrallah, the OIC should send a firm, clear message to governments that "any repeat of the attacks will be met with boycott". Nasrallah suggested that if the governments of Muslim-majority countries do not act against countries that allow desecration of the Koran, young Muslims should "punish the blasphemers".
Shiite Muslims make up more than 10% of the world's 1.8 billion Muslims. They consider Imam Hussein to be the heir of the Prophet Mohammed. Millions of Shiites in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and other parts of the world celebrate his death on July 28 and 29.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
