Officials from a number of countries, including many in the Middle East, have condemned the desecration of Al-Quran by a man in Sweden’s capital during a protest authorised by police.
Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi who fled to Sweden several years ago, tore up and lit pages of the Islamic holy book on fire on Thursday as Muslims celebrated the Eid al-Adha holiday.
The act outside the Stockholm Central Mosque prompted international condemnation. Here are some of the reactions:
Saudi Arabia
"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia strongly condemns the burning of a Quran by an extremist in front of a central mosque in Stockholm, Sweden. These repeated acts of hatred cannot be accepted regardless of their pretext. They directly contradict international efforts to spread the principles of tolerance, peaceful coexistence and countering extremism. They undermine the mutual respect necessary to build relationships between nations and peoples," the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday
Jordan
Jordan also condemned the act, calling it “racist” and an “incitement”.
“The Ministry affirmed that burning Al-Qur’an is an act of dangerous hate, and a manifestation of Islamophobia that incites violence and insulting religions and cannot be considered a form of freedom of expression at all,” the kingdom said in a statement.
Jordan said rejecting “extremism” is a “collective responsibility that everyone must abide by”.
Kuwait
Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the burning was a “dangerous, provocative step that inflames the feelings of Muslims around the world”.
It called on the international community and governments “to take responsibility for swift action to renounce feelings of hatred, extremism and religious intolerance”.
Morocco
Morocco went beyond a statement of condemnation and recalled its ambassador to Sweden for an indefinite period.
The kingdom’s foreign ministry also called on Sweden’s chargé d’affaires in Rabat and expressed its “strong condemnation of this attack and its rejection of this unacceptable act”, according to state media.
Yemen
The Yemeni government rejected the incident as one “deliberately provoking the feelings of Muslims around the world on holy Islamic occasions by a hateful extremist movement”, a statement by its foreign ministry said.
It also called for an end to the “repeated abuses” stemming from a “culture of hatred”
Egypt
Egypt said Momika’s act was “shameful”, especially since it took place on Eid al-Adha.
The foreign ministry also voiced concern about “repeated incidents” of the burning of A-Quran in Europe.
“Egypt expresses its deep concern about the repeated incidents of burning the Holy Qur’an and the recent escalation of Islamophobia and crimes of blasphemy of religions in some European countries, affirming its total rejection of all reprehensible practices that affect the constants and religious beliefs of Muslims,” it said in a statement.
Lebanon
Lebanon's powerful Iran-backed movement Hezbollah charged the Swedish authorities were "complicit in the crime". Hezbollah called on Sweden to put an end to such acts "rather than hiding behind freedom of speech".
It urged religious authorities and Muslim and Arab nations to take "all the necessary steps" to compel Sweden and other countries to prevent the recurrence of such incidents and stop "the spread of a culture of hate".
Iraq
Iraq called the act “racist” and “irresponsible”, adding that it condemns “the repeated acts of burning copies of Al-Quran by individuals with extremist and disturbed minds”.
“They are not only racist but also promote violence and hatred,” the Iraqi government said in a statement.
Turkey
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called Al-Quran desecration “despicable”.
“It is unacceptable to allow these anti-Islamic actions under the pretext of freedom of expression,” Fidan wrote on Twitter. “Turning a blind eye to such atrocious acts is to be complicit.”
Turkey’s condemnation carries weight. The country is blocking Sweden’s NATO membership bid over what it sees as Stockholm’s failure to crack down on Kurdish groups it considers “terrorists”.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had told Sweden’s leaders at the time: “If you do not show respect to the religious beliefs of the Republic of Turkey or Muslims, you will not receive any support for NATO from us.”
United States
The US Department of State expressed its opposition to the burning of the Quran while also urging Turkey to approve Sweden’s NATO bid.
“The burning of religious texts is disrespectful and hurtful, and what might be legal is certainly not necessarily appropriate,” spokesperson Vedant Patel said.
“Broadly, we continue to encourage Hungary and Turkey to ratify the accession protocol of Sweden without delay.”
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