ISLAMABAD – Pakistan on Thursday strongly condemned the despicable act of public burning of the Holy Quran outside a mosque in Sweden on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.
Such wilful incitement to discrimination, hatred and violence cannot be justified under pretext of freedom of expression and protest, a Foreign Office Spokesperson said in a statement.
Under international law, states are duty bound to prohibit any advocacy of religious hatred, leading to incitement of violence.
The recurrence of such Islamophobic incidents during the last few months in the West calls into serious question the legal framework which permits such hate-driven actions.
“We reiterate that the right to freedom of expression and opinion does not provide a license to stoke hatred and sabotage inter-faith harmony,” the statement said.
It added Pakistan’s concerns about the incident are being conveyed to Sweden. “We once again urge that both the international community and the national governments must undertake credible and concrete measures to prevent the rising incidents of xenophobia, Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred,” it added.
PM Shehbaz appalled at incident
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday said he was disgusted and appalled by the incident of public burning of the Holy Quran in front of a mosque in Sweden.
In a tweet on social media platform Twitter, he said, “Such vile, despicable and heinous Islamophobic acts brazenly violate international law. I have no words to adequately condemn this anti-Islam act, which is clearly meant to hurt the feelings of Muslims around the world.”
”The Holy Quran is a Divine Book of love, peace and wisdom for the entire humanity and the deviant character who indulged in this condemnable act has, in fact, insulted the shared values of humanity,” he added.
Two men burnt a Quran outside the main mosque in Stockholm on Wednesday following approval from a Swedish court.
According to Swedish public broadcaster SVT, the guy who had requested authorization for the action, a 37-year-old Iraqi immigrant who wants the book banned, tore out pages from the Quran, rubbed them on his shoe, and put part of them on fire.
Around 200 individuals, including counter-protesters, arrived to observe. One person who attempted to throw a rock was apprehended.
