Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader urges Muslims to ‘punish’ Quran desecrators if governments fail to do so

By ABBY SEWELL
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — The leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group says that if governments of Muslim-majority nations do not act against countries that allow desecration of the Quran, Muslims should “punish” those who facilitate attacks on Islam’s holy book. Hassan Nasrallah called on Muslims to monitor a scheduled meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Baghdad on Monday. He said the organization should “send a firm, decisive and unequivocal message to these governments that any repeat of the attacks will be met with a boycott.” Nasrallah spoke in a video address on Saturday to thousands gathered in Beirut’s southern suburbs to mark Ashoura, a Shiite holy day commemorating the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussein.