Pope condemns Quran burning in Sweden, calls for respect to holy books

Pope Francis has condemned last week’s Quran burning in Sweden, saying he felt “angry and disgusted” to see the Muslim holy book desecrated.

“Any book considered holy should be respected to respect those who believe in it. I feel angry and disgusted at these actions. Freedom of expression must never be used against others and encouraged interfaith dialogue,” Al Jazeera quotes the Pope as saying on July 3.

On June 28, when many Muslims were celebrating Eid al-Adha, a man in Stockholm tore up and burned a Quran outside a mosque, drawing widespread condemnation, including from the governments of Türkiye and Saudi Arabia.

Then, on July 2, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a group of 57 states, said collective measures are needed and international law should be used to stop religious hatred.

The OIC said in a statement: “We must send constant reminders to the international community regarding the urgent application of international law, which clearly prohibits any advocacy of religious hatred.”

On July 2, Saudi Arabia summoned Sweden’s ambassador over the incident to urge Stockholm to “stop all actions that directly contradict international efforts seeking to spread the values of tolerance, moderation and rejection of extremism and undermine the necessary mutual respect for relations between peoples and states”.

While Swedish police had granted permission for a protest, the man who burned the Quran was charged with agitation against an ethnic or national group.