In another incident that disrespects the sacred book of Islam, the Holy Quran was publicly burned in Sweden, which has drawn strong condemnation from Pakistan. The event occurred during the significant religious observance of Eid ul Adha and was termed a “despicable act” by the Pakistani authorities.
The Foreign Office of Pakistan released a statement expressing disapproval of the incident. The statement emphasized that inciting discrimination, hatred, and violence cannot be defended under the guise of freedom of expression and protest. It further noted that all states are bound by international law to prohibit advocacy of religious hatred, leading to violent incitement.
Recurring Islamophobic Incidents
Pakistan’s Foreign Office stated that such Islamophobic incidents, recurring in Western countries recently, question the legal framework that allows these hate-driven actions. It also affirmed that the right to freedom of speech does not extend to fostering hatred and disrupting inter-faith harmony.
Pakistan’s concerns regarding this event have been communicated to the Swedish government. The Foreign Office also urged the international community and individual national governments to take concrete and credible steps to curb the rising instances of xenophobia, Islamophobia, and anti-Muslim hatred.
The incident that sparked this outcry involved a man tearing and burning a copy of the Holy Quran outside Stockholm’s central mosque. According to Reuters, the man was later charged by the police with agitation against an ethnic or national group.
The occurrence of such demonstrations against Islam in Sweden has attracted the ire of the global Muslim community. The Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan condemned the distasteful protest, stating that allowing such anti-Islam protests in the name of freedom of expression was unacceptable. It’s worth noting that similar incidents have recently emerged in the Netherlands, drawing severe condemnation from the Muslim world.
