Right-wing leader Rasmus Paludan received approval from his nation’s government to burn the sacred Muslim book in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm the capital of Sweden on Saturday; this blasphemous act has prompted severe condemnation from several nations, including Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Jordan, expressing their outrage at the desecration of the Muslim holy book.
“To shoulder responsibility by stopping such unacceptable acts, denouncing all forms of hatred and extremism, and bringing the perpetrators to account,” Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah stated and urged the international community.
Egypt also strongly condemned the shameful act that hurts the feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims worldwide; urging “the upholding of the values of tolerance and peaceful coexistence and the prevention of offense to all religions and their sanctities through such extremist practices that contradict the values of respect for religion.”
Massive demonstrations were held in front of Turkey’s embassy in Stockholm to protest against the barbaric act. Despite our earlier repeated warnings, we condemn the vile attack on our holy book, the Qur’an, in Sweden today (21st January) in the strongest possible terms, according to a statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry. “Permitting this anti-Islam act, which targets Muslims and insults our sacred values, under the guise of freedom of expression is completely unacceptable,” the ministry described the act as “an outright hate crime.”
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“These actions are not covered under any legitimate expression of the right to freedom of expression or opinion, which carries responsibilities under international human rights law, such as the obligation not to carry out hate speech and incite people to violence,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. He continued and said, “We urge them to be mindful of the sentiments of the people of Pakistan and Muslims worldwide and take steps to prevent acts of Islamophobia.”
Nasser Kanaani, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, fiercely denounced Sweden’s sacrilege of the Holy Quran and accused some European nations of enabling extremist groups to foment hatred against Islamic sanctuaries and values.
Nayef Falah al-Hajraf, Secretary General of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council, criticized Swedish authorities for allowing an extremist to burn the Holy Qur’an in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, in an effort to “inflame and provoke the feelings of Muslims around the world.” A formal statement was also released by Hajraf in which he reiterated the GCC’s unwavering support for the importance of advancing the “values of discussion, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence, and opposing intolerance and extremism.” Additionally, he encouraged the international community to take charge of putting an end to such immoral actions.
“Provocative action… targets Muslims, insults their sacred values, and serves as a further example of the alarming level reached by Islamophobia,” the Organization of Islamic Cooperation bloc expressed its grievances in a long statement, and it requested that Sweden should punish those responsible for the “hate crime.”
Also in reaction to this blasphemous act, Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for Hamas in Palestine, stated, “This act is a provocation to the feelings of all Muslims, and a blatant aggression against their faith.” He added that extremist behavior would “spread hatred, incite violence, and create a fertile environment for extremism.”
Additionally, the “criminal act comes in the context of a long series of disgraceful insults to Muslim sanctities” was stated in a statement by Hezbollah of Lebanon. It added, “We appeal to Islamic governments and religious authorities to denounce this abuse and work to shape global public opinion to prevent these violations from occurring again.”
The following blasphemous conduct has sparked demonstrators to rally in confrontation against the far-right party members.
