OIC urges international community to confront desecration of Quran
The Council of Foreign Ministers of the member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) calls on the international community to take measures to prevent the desecration of religious sites, as well as copies of the Quran.
As TASS reports, this is stated in the resolution adopted at the end of the extraordinary session of the council, which was held in an online format.
The OIC foreign ministers strongly condemned the repeated attacks on copies of the Quran in Sweden and Denmark. The Council "deeply regrets that the Swedish authorities continue to issue permits allowing the burning of copies of the Quran and that the necessary measures to prevent these actions are not taken in either Sweden or Denmark," according to the resolution, the text of which is published on the website of the international organization.
The Council condemned "all attempts to denigrate the sanctity of the Quran, as well as other holy books, values and symbols of Islam and other religions under the pretext of freedom of speech". OIC foreign ministers called on the international community to "unanimously oppose these provocative actions," and Islamic organizations to unite with their counterparts in those countries where the Quran and other holy sites are under attack to sue and use domestic remedies before appealing to international bodies.
The burning of the holy book of Muslims took place on June 28 with the permission of the police in the square in the centre of Stockholm. Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old immigrant from Iraq, tore pages from the Quran and set it on fire. On that day, Muslims around the world celebrated Eid al-Adha, one of the major religious holidays. This action caused a sharply negative reaction from the population and authorities of Islamic countries, especially Arab countries.