Staff WriterFollowing the burning of a copy of the Holy Quran in front of a mosque in Stockholm on Friday, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, based in Saudi Arabia, called for coordinated action on Sunday to prevent other Holy Quran burnings.
To response to the event on Wednesday in which Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi citizen living in Sweden, trampled on the Islamic holy book and lit some pages on fire, the 57-member body convened at its Jeddah headquarters.
It started the Eid al-Adha celebration and ended the yearly haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, igniting indignation throughout the Muslim world.
In a statement issued following the “extraordinary” meeting, the OIC encouraged member states to “take unified and collective measures to prevent the recurrence of incidents of desecration of copies of the” Quran on Sunday.
Hissein Brahim Taha, secretary-general of the organization, “stressed the need to send a clear message that acts of desecration” of the Quran are “not mere ordinary Islamophobia incidents,” according to the statement.
“We must continually remind the international community of the urgent need to implement international law, which categorically forbids any promotion of religious hatred.”
Taha echoed popular condemnations of Momika’s Quran burning, calling it “a despicable act” and mentioning protests that had taken place close to the Swedish embassy in the country’s capital.
Sweden’s ambassadors have been called by nations like Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco in protest.
Iran is delaying sending Hojjatollah Faghani as its new ambassador to Sweden, according to Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the country’s foreign minister, because of the Quran’s burning in front of a mosque in Stockholm.
Momika had been given a permission by Swedish police in accordance with the country’s free speech laws, but subsequently, it was revealed that an inquiry had been launched due to “agitation.”
