July 2, 2023, 7:42 PM
July 2, 2023, 7:42 PM
The Swedish Government condemned this Sunday (07.02.2023) the “Islamophobic” burning of a Koran, occurred this week in front of the main mosque in Stockholm, after a call from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to avoid such acts.
“The Swedish government understands that Islamophobic acts committed by individuals in Sweden can be offensive to Muslims,” the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
“We strongly condemn these acts, which do not reflect the positions of the Swedish government“, he added.
The ministry stressed that the rights to freedom of expressionassembly and demonstration are protected by the Constitution in Sweden.
OCI: “These are not normal incidents of Islamophobia”
The OIC, made up of 57 member countries, met at its headquarters in Jeddah to respond to Wednesday’s act, when an Iraqi residing in Sweden, Salwan Momika, 37, burned several pages of the Islamic holy book.
The OIC asks Member States “take unified and collective measures to prevent the repetition of these incidents“said the agency’s statement.
The Secretary General of the OIC, Husein Ibrahim Taha, stressed the need to send a “clear message” that acts of desecration of the Koran, abuses against the prophet and Islamic figures “are not normal incidents of Islamophobia.”
He also stressed the need to send a continuous reminder to the international community for the “urgent application of international law that clearly prevents any invitation to religious hatred.”
“The burning of the Koran or any other sacred book is an offensive and disrespectful act and is a clear provocation. Expressions of racism, xenophobia and intolerance related to it should not have space in Sweden or in Europe,” he said, for his part. , the Swedish ministry.
Countries like Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco summoned the Swedish ambassadors in those countries.
The Swedish authorities also indicated that they had opened an investigation for “agitation against an ethnic group”.
