How Saudi, US, Turkey, Others Reacted as Iraqi Refugee Burns Quran in Sweden
- An Iraqi refugee, Salwan Momika has burnt the Holy Quran in front of the Stockholm Central Mosque in Sweden
- Momika, who was initially prohibited from burning the Quran was later allowed a court which ruled that such a ban was a violation of his rights
- Several countries have reacted and condemned the act in its totality with some summoning the Swedish Ambassador
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Stockholm, Sweden- United States of America, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and several other countries have reacted to the burning of the Holy Quran by an Iraqi refugee, Salwan Momika in front of the Stockholm Central Mosque in Sweden.
Momika, who moved to Sweden several years ago burnt the Holy Quran on Thursday, June 29, when the Muslims gathered to celebrate the Eid al-Adha holiday, Premium Times reported.
Source: Facebook
According to Aljazeera, the refugee seeking to ban the Quran in Sweden also laid a strip of bacon on the holy book and began stamping on it with his foot.
“With white AirPods in his ears and a cigarette hanging nonchalantly from his mouth, he then desecrated the Quran repeatedly on Wednesday by tearing it up and lighting it on fire.”
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It was that Momika was allowed to burn the Quran after an appeal court ruling after he was initially prohibited from doing it by the Swedish police.
The appeal court ruled that such a ban was a violation of his rights.
How the world is reacting to the burning of the Quran in Sweden
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said:
“We will teach the arrogant Western people that it is not freedom of expression to insult the sacred values of Muslims,” Aljazeera quoted
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described the burning of the Quran as “despicable”
Fidan added that it is unacceptable to allow these actions under the pretext of freedom of expression.
“To condone such atrocious acts is to be complicit,” he tweeted.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani said it is “provocative, ill-considered and unacceptable”.
“The government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran … do not tolerate such an insult and strongly condemn it.”
Kanani added:
“the Swedish government is expected to seriously consider the principle of responsibility and accountability in this regard while preventing the repetition of insulting the holy sanctities.”
The United States Department of State spokesperson Matt Miller said:
“We believe the demonstration created an environment of fear that will impact the ability of Muslims and members of other religious minority groups from freely exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief in Sweden.”
Miller added that:
“We also believe that issuing the permit for this demonstration supports freedom of expression and is not an endorsement of the demonstration’s actions.”
While condemning the act, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia said:
“These hateful and repeated acts cannot be accepted with any justification, as they incite hatred, exclusion, and racism, and 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.”
Iraqi government summoned the Swedish ambassador to Iraq on Thursday, June 29 and called the act “racist” and “irresponsible,”
It added that:
“The repeated acts of burning copies of the holy Koran by individuals with extremist and disturbed minds”.
“They are not only racist but also promote violence and hatred.”
The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates also summoned the Swedish ambassador to Amman.
It described the act as “racist” and an “incitement” noting that burning the Holy Qur’an is an act of dangerous hate, and a manifestation of Islamophobia that incites violence and insulting religions and cannot be considered a form of freedom of expression at all.
Ramadan: What Quran says about politics, Islamic lecturer gives insights
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Muslims have been advised to be agents of positive change and good ambassadors of the religion of peace, Islam.
The advice was given by speakers at the annual Ramadan lecture organised by a frontline politician and community leader, Mr Azeem Owe in Itire-Ikate, Lagos.
"If They Can Learn Quran, They Are Intelligent," Peter Obi on High Number of Out-of-school Children in North
Legit.ng also reported that the Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, has said that the Quranic proficiency of Nigerian children in the north is evidence of intelligence.
Obi while responding to questions on an Arise Television presidential candidates' town hall said that the high number of out-of-school children, especially in the northern part of the country needs to be addressed.
Source: Legit.ng
