Edwin Wagensveld, the leader of the Islamophobic group Pegida, made the anti-Islamic move on Thursday evening. 

He said that his move was made due to pressures following the burning of an Israeli flag.

“After protesting against the corrupt ideology of Islam in the city of Arnhem, it was Amsterdam’s turn,” he wrote in a message posted on X.

“Anyone who thinks for a moment will realize that the pressure following the burning of the Israeli flag was so intense that the burning of the Quran took place in a location of our choosing.”

He said he would not abandon what he called “freedom of expression” and that Pegida will continue to fight for a Netherlands “free from corrupt ideologies”.

This incident has sparked angry reactions from Dutch politicians and citizens, with Ismail Abbasi, a member of the Dutch Parliament, describing it as an “outrageous incitement to hate”.

Abbasi said desecration of the Quran is an affront to more than a billion Muslims in the world.

Dutch photojournalist Annet de Graaf also criticized the actions of Wagensefeld, calling them cowardly.

She stressed that the municipality of Amsterdam should take responsibility for facilitating this action.

She urged Femke Halsema, the mayor of Amsterdam, to provide clear answers regarding this event.

This is not the first time Wagensveld has desecrated Islam’s Holy Book and made Islamophobic moves.

In March 2023, he tore out pages from a Quran in The Hague, the administrative capital of the Netherlands.