ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed concern over the recent incidents of desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden and other European countries with his Swedish counterpart.
In a statement, Bilawal said that he raised the issue with Foreign Minister of Sweden Tobias Billstrom in a telephone conversation.
“He apprised me that all Islamophobic acts in any form are strongly rejected by the Swedish government. I emphasised that such abhorrent acts shouldn’t be permitted under the guise of freedom of expression,” tweeted Bilawal.
Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Bilawal had taken up the issue with his Danish counterpart Lars Lokke Rasmussen as well.
Bilawal said he raised deep concern on the recent incidents of desecration of the Holy Quran in Denmark and other European countries.
“While acknowledging the Danish government’s outreach to the Muslim world and condemnation of these abhorrent acts, I stressed the need for stopping Islamophobic acts that hurt the sentiments of Muslims across the world. Also emphasised the need to promote interfaith harmony and religious tolerance,” Bilawal told the Danish foreign minister.
The Foreign Minister of Sweden Tobias Billstrom spoke with me today. I shared my deep concern at the recent incidents of desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden and other countries. He apprised me that all Islamophobic acts in any form are strongly rejected by the Swedish… pic.twitter.com/QydPQ0WUpp
— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) August 2, 2023
Sweden and Denmark have seen a string of protests in recent weeks, in which copies of the holy book were desecrated, prompting outrage in Muslim countries and demands that the Nordic governments put a stop to the burnings.
Both countries have said they deplore the burning of the Muslim sacred book but cannot prevent it under rules protecting free speech.
Bilawal also participated in the 18th Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) where the issue of Quran burning was taken up.
In the meeting, the OIC expressed grave concern over an increase in Islamophobia after a spike in incidents of Holy Quran burning in Nordic nations.
