UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the burning of a copy of the Quran by an Iraqi refugee in Stockholm, Sweden and underlined the need to take measures to avoid anti-Muslims.
In a phone conversation with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Fuad Hussein on Saturday, Guterres affirmed the need to respect Muslims and their religious practices and said the UN is closely monitoring the incident and related reactions in Iraq and the Muslim world.
Deputy Prime Minister Hussein emphasized that such actions fuel Islamophobia and extremist ideologies around the world, contributing to multiple problems between different nations and communities.
The European External Affairs Service (EEAS) said that the EU condemns the burning of the Quran in Sweden and urges to avoid escalation of tension.
It said in a statement that burning of the Quran absolutely does not reflect the EU’s position. The EU is closely monitoring the situation in Baghdad, where thousands of Iraqi protesters are gathering near the Swedish Embassy.
The EU calls for calm and condemns attacks on diplomatic missions.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Sunday called for collective measures to avoid future Qur’an burnings, days after a copy was torched outside a Stockholm mosque.
The 57-member body met at its Jeddah headquarters to respond to Wednesday’s incident in which an Iraqi citizen living in Sweden, Salwan Momika, 37, stomped on the Islamic holy book and set several pages alight.
It coincided with the start of the Eid al-Adha holiday and the end of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, sparking anger across the Muslim world.
On Sunday, the OIC urged member states to ‘take unified and collective measures to prevent the recurrence of incidents of desecration of copies of the’ Qur’an, according a statement released after the ‘extraordinary’ meeting.
The body’s secretary general, Hissein Brahim Taha, ‘stressed the need to send a clear message that acts of desecration’ of the Koran are ‘not mere ordinary Islamophobia incidents,’ the statement said.
‘We must send constant reminders to the international community regarding the urgent application of international law, which clearly prohibits any advocacy of religious hatred.’
Taha condemned Momika’s Koran burning as ‘a despicable act’, echoing widespread denunciations that have included demonstrations near the Swedish embassy in Iraq’s capital.
Countries including Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco have summoned Swedish ambassadors in protest.
Swedish police had granted Momika a permit in line with free speech protections, but authorities later said they had opened an investigation over ‘agitation’.
BDST: 1759 HRS, JULY 03, 2023
MSK
