Senegal, Morocco, Mauritania condemn burning of copy of Quran outside Stockholm Mosque, saying repetition of heinous behavior reflects premeditated ill will against Islam
JOHANNESBURG
African countries on Thursday joined the rest of the world in denouncing the burning of a copy of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, in front of a mosque in the Swedish capital of Stockholm.
“I strongly condemn the burning of the Holy Quran on June 28 in front of a mosque in Stockholm. This repugnant and provocative gesture, at the time of the blessed feast of Eid al-Adha, is a serious attack on the religious feeling of Muslims, like that of last January. This must stop!” Senegal’s President Macky Sall stated in a tweet.
On Wednesday, a man identified as Salwan Momika burned a copy of the Quran while being guarded by local police in front of the Stockholm Mosque.
In January, a far-right politician also set fire to a copy of the Muslim holy book outside the Turkish embassy in Sweden.
“The repetition of this heinous behavior reflects a premeditated will of the planners and executors against Islam and the most sacred in it,” Mauritania’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday strongly condemning the act described by many world leaders as Islamophobic.
The ministry said the action of the planners clearly demonstrates their determination to go to any length in provoking the feelings of more than two billion Muslims worldwide.
“This reprehensible act is blatantly contrary to the values of dialogue, tolerance, rejection of hate, extremism, and exclusion, as well as to the essential principles of human rights and values of peaceful coexistence between cultures and people,” the statement reads.
Meanwhile, on Moroccan King Mohammed VI’s orders, the Foreign Ministry summoned the Swedish charge d’affaires in Rabat on Thursday to protest the act.
The Moroccan government’s most vehement condemnation of this offense and rejection of this unacceptable act were conveyed to the Swedish diplomat, the ministry said in a statement.
King Mohammed VI also recalled his ambassador to Sweden for consultation for an indefinite period.
“Regardless of the political positions or differences that may exist between countries, the Kingdom considers it unacceptable that the faith of Muslims should be disrespected in this way, nor can the principles of tolerance and the values of universalism be reduced to accommodating the views of a few while showing so little regard for the beliefs of more than a billion Muslims,” the statement said.
