The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) announced on Sunday that it informed the Swedish government of its decision to suspend the status of the special envoy to Stockholm over the desecration of the Holy Quran.

In a statement, the General Secretariat of the organization indicated that the OIC Executive Committee’s extraordinary meeting held on July 2, 2023, asked Secretary-General H. E. Hissein Brahim Taha to consider possible steps to review the official framework linking the General Secretariat to any country in which copies of the Holy Quran or other Islamic values and symbols are desecrated with the consent of the authorities concerned, including suspending the status of the Special Envoy.

According to the statement, Taha conveyed the decision in a letter addressed to the Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In the same context, the OIC mentioned that its Secretary-General "welcomed the measures taken by some Member States to protest against the repeated attacks on Islamic sanctities."

The statement indicated that Taha called on all member states "to take the sovereign decisions they deem appropriate to express their position condemning the granting by the Swedish authorities of licenses that enabled the repeated abuse of the sanctity of the Holy Qur’an and Islamic symbols, and to express the OIC states’ rejection of such disgraceful acts under the pretext of freedom of expression."

In addition, the OIC Secretary-General "stressed the importance of taking the necessary legislative measures to criminalize such attacks, bearing in mind that the exercise of freedom of expression entailed special duties and responsibilities."

Earlier, Iraq’s Foreign Ministry announced in a statement that the OIC is due to convene in an emergency meeting regarding the recurring acts of the burning of the Holy Quran in Europe.

The OIC’s emergency meeting came in response to two requests by Iraq’s Foreign Ministry over the occurrences in Sweden and Denmark, which provoked the Muslim world, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

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The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said the OIC meeting is expected to tackle "the most important collective procedures and positions of the member states" in addition to "mechanisms to confront the phenomenon of Islamophobia."

"Provocative and heinous practices against Islamic sanctities are fueled by laws that permit them under the pretext of freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate, and this revives hatred and extremism, threatens social peace and security, and brings human societies back to the [era] of violence," the statement read.

Read next: Sayyed Nasrallah calls for public outcry against Quran burning

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry reached out to the international community to stick to "moral and civilized obligations in a responsible and equal manner by dealing in accordance with what was stipulated in international resolutions, by criminalizing racism and … its followers in the world."

"Religions and races should be respected together, and practices that disgrace their symbols and followers should be criminalized," it continued.

His Excellency the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (#OIC), Mr. #Hissein_Brahim_Taha, condemned in the strongest terms the burning by an extremist group of a copy of the Holy Quran in front of the #Iraqi Embassy in the #Danish capital, #Copenhagen. pic.twitter.com/fwtn2Rgf4Q

— OIC (@OIC_OCI) July 23, 2023

This comes a couple of days after members of the ultra-nationalist "Danish Patriots" group burned a copy of the Holy Quran in addition to an Iraqi flag outside the Iraqi Embassy in Copenhagen.

That followed the footsteps of Salwan Momika, the Iraqi refugee - who Iran found out to be working for the Israeli Mossad in 2019 - who burned a copy of the Holy Quran outside the biggest mosque in Stockholm during Eid Al-Adha back in June, and once again this month. 

Momika was given both authorization and protection by the Swedish police. 

Read more: Raisi describes Sweden's response to Quran burning as insufficient