Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right political party Hard Line, while surrounded and protected by the police, set the Quran on fire in Sweden’s capital Stockholm on Saturday.
Indonesia, Jordan, Oman, Kuwait and the UAE also issued condemnatory statements, as did the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Muslim World League.
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Muslim Countries and organisations including Al-Azhar Al-Sharif — Sunni Islam’s oldest and foremost seat of learning — strongly condemned the burning of the Holy Qur’an by Swedish extremists.
They said that the Qur’an will “remain in its glory” as a “guiding book for all humanity, guiding them to the values of goodness, truth and beauty.” “The repeated incident “indicates the complicity of Swedish authorities” with far-right figures in an attempt to “repeatedly and deliberately offend religious sanctities and provoke Muslims around the world,” Al-Azhar Al-Sharif said in a statement.
Right-wing politician Rasmus Paludan burned the holy book outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm during a demonstration on Saturday, sparking protests.
The “criminal acts of savagery” will not undermine the sanctity of the Holy Qur’an in the heart of a civilized person, Al-Azhar said.
It added that the “grudges of the misguided criminals and the actions of the promoters of fanaticism and sick souls, who have black records in the history of fanaticism, hatred, and wars of religion, will not affect the sanctity of the Holy Qur’an.”
Al-Azhar called on the international community to stand up to attempts to” tamper with religious sanctities,” urging the condemnation of those behind the burning and an immediate investigation into the incident.
Allowing the burning “impedes efforts to promote peace, interfaith dialogue and communication between East and West, as well as between the Islamic world and the West,” it said.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit and the Egyptian government joined the condemnation.
Aboul Gheit said on Twitter: “I condemn in the strongest terms the burning of the Holy Qur’an by an extremist in Stockholm, Sweden.”
He added: “Such extreme and abnormal acts should be condemned and denounced by everyone, especially in Sweden.”
“Freedom of speech should not be a pretext for extremists to ignite the fire of hatred between followers of different religions,” said Aboul Gheit, who mentioned the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Twitter account in his tweet.
The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia condemned on Sunday the burning of the Holy Qur’an by far-right protesters in Stockholm, Sweden over the weekend.
Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh described the incident as an “absurd and disgraceful act” in remarks carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
“This is a provocative act against one and a half billion Muslims around the world. It fuels strife and serves the advocates of extremism,” Al-Sheikh said.
The Arab Parliament also strongly condemned the incident and stressed its “total rejection of such disgraceful acts, which are considered a violation of all international laws and covenants on the need to respect people’s sanctities, beliefs and religions.”
It called on the international community to assume its responsibilities and enact laws and legislation that criminalises insulting religious sanctity and provides the necessary protection for Muslims in practising their religious rites on an equal basis with all other religions.
Egypt expressed its strong condemnation of the Stockholm incident.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs described it as a “disgraceful act” that provoked the feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims all over the world.
Egypt warned of the dangers of fueling hate speech and violence.
It called for upholding the values of tolerance and peaceful coexistence, and preventing offense to all religions through extremist practices.
Morocco said it was “astonished” that authorities had allowed the incident to take place “in front of the Swedish forces of order.”
Indonesia, Jordan, Oman, Kuwait and the UAE also issued condemnatory statements, as did the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Muslim World League.