Al-Houthi made the remarks on Tuesday, less than a week after two men stood outside the Swedish capital of Stockholm’s central mosque and burned a copy of the holy book following a go-ahead given to them by a Swedish court.
The repeated and state-authorized instance of sacrilege against the Muslim holy book was made to coincide with the Muslim festivity of Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice), which marks the conclusion of the annual Hajj pilgrimage that is partaken by millions of Muslims from across the world.
The act of desecration has opened the floodgates of protest across the Muslim world.
Al-Houthi vehemently condemned Western countries’ double standards vis-à-vis Muslims, saying acts of sacrilege against the Holy Qur’an amounted to insult against all prophets and holy books.
The Westerners refuse to expose Zionists’ crimes, he said, adding, “This points to the Zionist lobby’s influence [across the Western countries].”
“The lobby manipulates the West and infiltrates nations as it pleases. The Western world has, therefore, turned into a hotbed of the lobby’s plots,” he continued.
The Ansarullah leader, meanwhile, criticized Muslim countries for their failure to serve the insult with a proper response.
“It would be a salutary lesson for other countries if Muslim countries severed their diplomatic relations with Sweden and started bringing it under economic sanctions,” he said.
Referring to Sweden’s limited hosting of intra-Yemeni talks in the past, al-Houthi stated Sana’a had officially informed Stockholm that it would not be allowed to serve as the convening country for any new such negotiations.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Yemeni official pointed to Israel’s earlier killing of at least 13 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, mostly in the northern city of Jenin.
He identified Tel Aviv as a “criminal” entity that has been perpetrating crimes against the Palestinians on a daily basis since its claiming existence on Palestinian soil in 1948.
“The [international] Muslim nation bears a great responsibility concerning Palestine,” al-Houthi concluded, considering Arab states’ positions on the Israeli crimes to be disproportionate to the oppression that was being committed against Palestinians.
