Edwin Wagensveld
Edwin Wagensveld (born 1969)[1] is a Dutch anti-Islam activist and leader of Pegida Netherlands.[2][3][4] He has managed to "create a spectacle generating broad media coverage" with his anti-Islam protests and Quran desecrations.[5]
Activities[edit]
Wagensveld has been the leader of Pegida Netherlands since November 2014, at a time when he owned a small internet-based business selling non-lethal weapons, self-defence articles and outdoors products.[1][6] He had previously that year participated in a Hogesa demonstration.[1] He lives in Germany close to the Dutch border, and commutes to the Netherlands to stage demonstrations, and is a staunch supporter of Geert Wilders.[1] In 2016, he was revealed to have been patrolling for refugees on the border between Bulgaria and Turkey with Tatjana Festerling.[7][8]
In April 2018, Wagensveld was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for tax evasion.[8]
He was investigated by Dutch police for tearing out pages of the Quran and calling it a "fascist book" in January 2023 in front of the Dutch parliament building.[3] His desecrations of the Quran contributed to the diplomatic Quran crisis that year.[3] In August, he trampled on and tore up a Quran outside the Turkish embassy in The Hague.[9] During his subsequent trial in November, he tore apart another copy of the Quran.[4] He was sentenced to forty hours of community service.[10] In January 2024, he was violently attacked during a demonstration in Arnhem after he tried to burn a Quran.[11] In March, he was arrested in Arnhem for pulling a Quran on a dog leash.[12]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Berntzen, Lars Erik (2019). Liberal Roots of Far Right Activism: The Anti-Islamic Movement in the 21st Century. Routledge. p. 173. ISBN 9781000707960.
- ^ Heller, Albert; van der Vegt, Eric (12 January 2024). "Wie is Edwin Wagensveld, de man die Marcouch wil provoceren door een koran in hartje Arnhem te verbranden?". de Gelderlander (in Dutch).
- ^ a b c "Dutch prosecutors investigate activist who desecrated Quran". Associated Press. 14 April 2023.
- ^ a b "Far-right leader tears up Koran during trial in the Netherlands". The Brussels Times. 9 November 2023.
- ^ Bracke, Sarah; Aguilar, Luis Manuel Hernández, eds. (2023). The Politics of Replacement: Demographic Fears, Conspiracy Theories, and Race Wars. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781003813095.
- ^ Vorländer, Hans; Herold, Maik; Schäller, Steven (2018). PEGIDA and New Right-Wing Populism in Germany. Springer. p. 16. ISBN 9783319674957.
- ^ "Dutch Pegida leader will appear in court over swastika". DutchNews. 18 August 2016.
- ^ a b Schmidt, Gisela; Schneider, Alexander (27 April 2018). "„Ed, der Holländer" verurteilt". Sächsische (in German).
- ^ "Qur'an ripped up during far-right protest in Netherlands". Arab News. 19 August 2023.
- ^ "Pegida-voorman Edwin Wagensveld veroordeeld tot taakstraf om koranbelediging". NU (in Dutch). 23 November 2023.
- ^ "Pegida-voorman belaagd bij koranverbranding in Arnhem". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). 13 January 2024.
- ^ "Pegida-voorman Edwin Wagensveld aangehouden in rechtbank Arnhem". NOS (in Dutch). 27 March 2024.