It was during a ceremony for the so-called holy Koran competition, an annual religious event, that Salami went on the attack against Koran-burners.
Whoever burns the Koran should learn from the fate of Salman Rushdie, the Revolutionary Guard leader said, referring to the British-Indian author who was the subject of an assassination attempt as recently as last August. That after being forced to live underground for many years due to a death threat from former Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini in 1988.
Dream nightmares
You should live a hidden life and dream nightmares, because Muslims will not leave you alone, even after tens of years, Salami said, according to the Iranian state news agency Irna.
Barely two weeks ago, far-right Rasmus Paludan’s Koran burning outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm became world news. Since then, several Muslim leaders have directed condemnations at Sweden and Koran burning as a phenomenon.
– There is almost a kind of competition going on in asserting oneself in this condemnation against the Koran burning right now, says Mohammad Fazlhashemi, expert on political Islam and professor at Uppsala University.
Can trigger individuals
The fact that the leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is going on the attack right now may also have something to do with the fact that the celebration of the Iranian revolution is going on these days.
– It is in that context that you should see this, says Fazlhashemi.
– But of course it can trigger individuals and groups, you can’t ignore that. The higher the tone you use, the more people can be inspired by this.
Just a week ago, Fazlhashemi issued a similar threat, but against the staff of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, after they published caricatures of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to Al Arabiya news.