Iranian FM: Collective responsibility needed against Quran desecration
3 Min Read
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned that the repeated desecration of the holy Muslim book in Sweden and Denmark may harm diplomatic relations.
-
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian speaks in Moscow, Russia, on August 31, 2022. (AP)
After months of anti-Quran rallies in Sweden and Denmark, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has called for collective responsibility and worldwide criminalization of the desecration of the Muslim holy book.
Read more: UN Human Rights Council condemns Quran burning
After a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Monday, he was quoted by Tasnim calling the recent occurrences "bitter events," as he explained that Islamic countries should exert pressure on European governments "to swiftly put an end to such provocative actions and hold the perpetrators accountable and punish them within the framework of the law."
Amir-Abdollahian's vision was also backed by the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who stated that “The Swedish and Dutch governments and the whole world must understand that we are an Ummah that does not tolerate any attack or desecration of its sanctities," calling the incidents "an attack on Islam and a billion Muslims. "
Yesterday, Swedish police granted yet another permit for a protest outside the Swedish parliament in which the organizers burned the Quran, sparking diplomatic tensions and concerns over security.
The organizers of the protest expressed their desire to see the Muslim holy book banned in Sweden. One of the leading organizers, Salwan Najem, vowed to burn it repeatedly until the ban was implemented.
Speaking on the day of #Ashura, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah denounced the repeated desecration of the #Quran by #Sweden and #Denmark, calling on Islamic countries to assume their responsibilities in taking a stand to defend Islamic sanctities.
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) July 29, 2023
The leader of the #Lebanese Resistance… pic.twitter.com/lGTUIIK49A
See this: Condemnations from Arab and Islamic countries against Sweden
The Iranian Foreign Minister also encouraged the OIC's legal office to swiftly address the problem of devising methods for criminalizing anti-Islamic crimes at national, regional, and international levels, both in physical and digital spaces.
Amir-Abdollahian stated that if such steps are repeated, Islamic nations and the Muslim community may cut diplomatic relations, or sanction nations that violate religious values.
In response to the desecration of the Quran, Danish and Swedish envoys were summoned from Middle Eastern nations. Reactions across the Middle East continue to spread as European nations not only continue to protect suspects but continue to refrain from taking any action to prosecute them.
On Sunday, the government of Denmark announced its intention to look into legal means to stop protests that involve burning holy texts in certain situations, basing their claim on security concerns after international backlash.
Arguing that it played into the hands of extremists, the government, in its Foreign Ministry statement, said it wants to "explore" intervening in circumstances where "other countries, cultures, and religions are being insulted, and where this could have significant negative consequences for Denmark, not least with regard to security."
Several Muslim countries have protested the burning of the Quran, and the Iraqi government on July 20 expelled Sweden's ambassador to the country and severed its ties with Stockholm in response to the repeated Quran burnings in Sweden, which were permitted by the Swedish government.
Salwan Momika, an Iraqi-born refugee living in Sweden burned a copy of the Quran on June 28 outside Stockholm's main mosque. Momika was granted a permit from Swedish authorities before carrying out his act.
Iran's security ministry recently revealed that Salwan Momika was born in Iraq in 1986 and started working for the Israeli Mossad in 2019.
