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Worldwide condemnation of Quran burning in Sweden

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Abdus-Sattar Ghazali
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The Muslim Islamic world condemns the burning of a copy of the Quran, Islam's holy book, by a Swedish-Danish right-wing extremist, Rasmus Paludan, in the Swedish capital, Stockholm.

Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the Stram Kurs (Hard Line) Party, under the protection of police and with permission from the government, burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on Saturday, the Anadolu Agency reported Sunday.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying, "We condemn in the strongest terms the heinous attack on our holy book, the Quran, in Sweden today (21 January), despite our repeated warnings before." Calling the act "an outright hate crime," the ministry said, "Permitting this anti-Islam act, which targets Muslims and insults our sacred values, under the guise of freedom of expression is completely unacceptable." "This despicable act is yet another example of the alarming level that Islamophobia and, racist and discriminatory movements have reached in Europe."

In response to Sweden's permission of the incident, Ankara canceled Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson's upcoming visit to Turkey.

OIC condemns burning of Holy Quran

Hissein Brahim Taha, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), on Sunday strongly denounced the far-right activists' heinous crime of burning the holy Quran in Stockholm, Sweden.

The OIC secretary general cautioned that this provocative conduct, which far-right extremists have undertaken repeatedly, targets Muslims, degrades their fundamental values, and serves as yet another illustration of the terrible level that Islamophobia, bigotry, intolerance, and xenophobia have reached.

He urged intensified worldwide efforts to stop similar crimes from happening again and called for cooperation in the fight against Islamophobia.

Iran denounces

Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, also said on Saturday that some European nations have allowed extremist organizations to incite hostility towards Islamic principles and sanctuaries because of false accusations.

Despite the European human rights rhetoric, he pointed out that these countries are enshrining anti-Islamism and Islamophobia in their cultures. Such actions have no bearing on the freedom of speech or opinion, he said. The spokesman also remarked that the Muslim people want the Swedish government to stop future instances of such anti-Islamic conduct and to hold those responsible accountable.

Islamabad urged the international community to show a "common resolve" against Islamophobia, xenophobia, intolerance and incitement to violence on the basis of religion or belief, and work together for promoting inter-faith harmony and peaceful coexistence. "Pakistan's concerns are being conveyed to the authorities in Sweden. We urge them to be mindful of the sentiments of the people of Pakistan and the Muslims worldwide and take steps to prevent Islamophobic acts," the statement added.

Arab states denounce

Saudi Arabia condemned the Swedish authorities for allowing the far-right politician to burn the Quran. In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry affirmed "the kingdom's firm position calling for the importance of spreading the values of dialogue, tolerance and coexistence, and rejecting hatred and extremism."

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry decried the Quran burning as a "disgraceful act."A ministry statement warned that this "disgraceful act provokes the feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world.""These extremist practices are inconsistent with the values of respect of others, freedom of belief, human rights and human fundamental freedoms," it added.

Qatar also denounced in the strongest terms Sweden's permission to burn the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm. "This heinous incident is an act of incitement and a serious provocation to the feelings of more than two billion Muslims in the world," the Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

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Author and journalist. Author of Islamic Pakistan: Illusions & Reality; Islam in the Post-Cold War Era; Islam & Modernism; Islam & Muslims in the Post-9/11 America. American Muslims in Politics. Islam in the 21st Century: (more...)
 

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