The burning of a copy of the Quran in Sweden during a protest has drawn condemnation from several Muslim-majority countries.
In front of Stockholm’s main mosque on Wednesday, Salwan Momika, who is reportedly an Iraqi living in Sweden, set fire to a copy of the Islamic text.
The burning was strongly condemned by Middle Eastern countries including Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
Turkey, a NATO member with a say in whether Sweden joins, referred to it as a “despicable act”.
Turkey, which was also incensed by a Quran-burning protest earlier this year, declared it “unacceptable” to permit such “anti-Islamic actions” to occur “under the pretext of freedom of expression”.
Muslims view any intentional harm or display of disrespect toward the Quran as a grave offense since they view it as a sacred word of God.
On Wednesday, the Quran was burned as Muslims worldwide observed the first day of Eid al-Adha, one of the most significant holidays in the Islamic calendar.
According to free speech laws, the Swedish police had granted Mr. Momika permission to hold the protest. Police later stated that a probe was being conducted into the incident for possible racial incitement.
Other nations were also incensed by the protest.
In addition to summoning Sweden’s charge d’affaires in Rabat, Morocco has called back its ambassador to Stockholm.
In Iraq, the incident was described as “a reflection of a hateful aggressive spirit that has nothing to do with freedom of expression”.
While Egypt called it a “shameful” act that was particularly provocative as Muslims marked Eid al-Adha, Iran echoed Iraq’s criticism, calling the act of burning the Quran “provocative” and “unacceptable.
This week’s annual Hajj pilgrimage brought about 1.8 million pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, which declared: “These hateful and repeated acts cannot be accepted with any justification”.
The burning of the Quran was “legal but not appropriate,” according to Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
Recent riots in Sweden were brought on by plans to burn copies of the Quran.
Recently, police had denied requests for similar protests, but courts later decided that they should be approved on the grounds of freedom of expression.
Source-BBC
