ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has strongly condemned the recent incidents of desecration of Holy Quran in Malmo, Sweden and Oslo, Norway.
In a tweet on Sunday, Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said the rise of such Islamophobic occurrences goes against the spirit of any religion.
“The rise of such Islamophobic occurrences goes against the spirit of any religion. Freedom of speech can’t justify religious hatred,” said the spokesperson.
“Ensuring respect for religious beliefs of others is a collective responsibility and is absolutely critical for global peace & prosperity,” he added.
Ensuring respect for religious beliefs of others is a collective responsibility and is absolutely critical for global peace & prosperity. 2/2 @UN @OIC_OCI @OIC_IPHRC
— Spokesperson ???????? MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) August 30, 2020
Violent protests ensued in Sweden when a mob set the Holy Quran on fire against the arrest of a leader of a Danish anti-immigration political party who earlier burned a copy of the Islamic holy book.
The mob protested against his arrest and burned the Holy book on the street of Stockholm. The desecration was part of an anti-Islam protest which took place in the city, following the arrest of Rasmus Paludan, who leads the far-right Danish anti-immigration party Hard Line that was supposed to hold a meeting in the city.
Later, Paludanone had been banned from Sweden for two years due to concerns about him breaking the Swedish law. As such, he was stopped at the border and was denied entry into Malmo.
In response, his arrest sparked outrage among his followers who then went ahead with the rally and set a copy of the Quran ablaze. In a viral video, a group set spraying gasoline over a copy of the Quran and then set the book on fire during the day. The man was also being seen pointing towards the burnt Quran and condemning Islam in Swedish.
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