OIC calls for collective measures to prevent future desecration of Qur'an
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has called for collective measures to prevent future incidents of Qur'an desecration after an Iraqi immigrant publicly burned a copy of Islam’s holy book outside a mosque in the Swedish capital of Stockholm.
The 57-member organization made the plea in a statement on Sunday, after convening an emergency meeting of its executive committee in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea city of Jeddah to address the consequences of the sacrilegious act.
"We must send constant reminders to the international community regarding the urgent application of international law, which clearly prohibits any advocacy of religious hatred," OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha said.
The latest development comes as Iranian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Nasser Kan'ani has already advised Sweden to prevent the repetition of acts of insult against international sanctities in the future and pay serious attention to the principles of responsibility and accountability in this regard.
On Wednesday, Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi immigrant stomped on the Qur'an before setting several pages alight in front of Stockholm's largest mosque. The insult to the Muslim holy book was made under the authorization and protection of the Swedish police.
The incident, coinciding with the start of the Muslim Eid al-Adha and the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, drew the anger of Muslims from across the world.
Following the incident, several thousand Iraqis gathered near the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in protest against the Qur’an burning and demanded the expulsion of the ambassador.
People in other Muslim countries also took to the streets in protest against the move.
The perpetrator of the insult told a Swedish newspaper late Thursday that he intended to repeat his protest in July.
Sweden has repeatedly permitted Qur'an burnings in recent years. In January, a Swedish-Danish right-wing extremist burned a copy of the Qur'an near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
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