The Maldives has issued a strong condemnation in response to the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden by an individual named Salwan Momika during the holy day of Eid-al-Adha.
In a press statement released on Thursday, the Maldives government said “this deeply despicable and disrespectful act hurts the religious sentiments of millions of Muslims across the world.” It expressed deep concern over the recurrence of such acts and emphasised that they cannot be justified under the pretext of freedom of speech and expression.
The statement denounced the act as a manifestation of Islamophobia, which undermines the collective efforts to promote tolerance and coexistence, and reiterated calls for an end to such abhorrent acts against Islam.
The incident in Sweden sparked protests around the Muslim world and drew widespread condemnation from Muslim nations and organisations across the globe. Calls for justice and measures to prevent similar acts of disrespect towards any religion have resonated across social media platforms and public forums.
Turkey, a country known for its strong ties with Sweden, called the desecration of the Quran “despicable” and criticised Sweden’s decision to allow such acts under the pretext of freedom of expression. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan urged the international community not to turn a blind eye to such atrocious acts.
Morocco went beyond a mere statement of condemnation and recalled its ambassador to Sweden indefinitely. The kingdom’s foreign ministry expressed its strong condemnation of the attack and rejected the unacceptable act.
Russia‘s special representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on cooperation in the field of observance of the right to freedom of religion, Gennady Askaldovich, stated that impunity for such incidents can lead to catastrophic consequences. He called on the international community to jointly oppose these violations of believers’ rights.
The United States State Department expressed opposition to the burning of the Quran while also urging Turkey to approve Sweden’s NATO bid. The spokesperson highlighted that the burning of religious texts is disrespectful and hurtful.
Iran‘s foreign ministry spokesperson condemned the incident as provocative, ill-considered, and unacceptable. Iran urged the Swedish government to prevent the repetition of such insults to Islamic sanctities and consider the principles of responsibility and accountability.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Yemen, Syria, and, Palestine were among the countries that also strongly condemned the burning. They expressed their deep concern, rejected the act as an attack on religious beliefs, and called for an end to repeated abuses and the promotion of hatred and extremism.
