The leader of the Dutch branch of anti-Muslim organisation Pegida, Edwin Wagensveld, burnt a Koran in the city of Arnhem (in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border) on Saturday afternoon.
An earlier attempt by Wagensveld in January this year to set fire to Islam's holy scripture failed as riots broke out. There were no counter-demonstrators at the site of the burning on Saturday, but behind a line of police officers dozens of metres away were some onlookers who were not allowed to approach.
Wagensveld wore a shirt that read "Islam is no better than Nazism" and he called it important that the burning be done under the right to demonstrate and criticised the fact that he said a lot of police were needed to keep it peaceful.
He added that he would continue Koran burnings until "something changes," giving the example of banning what he called "hate mosques."
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After the Koran burning, a supporter of Wagensveld read out a text that included hate messages the Pegida leader received, but he was interrupted because Wagensveld and two men accompanying him had to leave the site suddenly, under police escort.
Simultaneously with the burning, Muslims handed out free Korans in the city.
Wagensveld was arrested several times in the past at demonstrations by the anti-Islam group, and has also previously been convicted of insulting Muslims. In November, he tore up a Koran in court. In another case, he was arrested in March after dragging a Koran on a dog leash across the ground before entering a courtroom.
