Foreign ministry: OIC welcomed Iraq's call to host an emergency meeting on burning of Holy Quran

INA-  Baghdad

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday its diplomatic measures taken regarding the burning of the Holy Quran in Sweden, while noting that the organization of Islamic Cooperation OIC welcomed Iraq's call to host the emergency meeting, renewed its demand for the extradition of those involved in the incident.

Ministry spokesman Ahmed Al-Sahaf told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that"the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has started its diplomatic procedural rules in an escalating manner regarding the incident of burning the Quran in Sweden, where foreign minister Fuad Hussein received a call from his Swedish counterpart, through which the latter expressed his country's regret and apology for the heinous act, and that these actions do not represent the vision of the Swedish government.

"The Swedish Minister informed the foreign minister that there is a high-level coordination with the Swedish police to start an investigation into this incident," Al-Sahaf added, noting that "Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein informed his Swedish counterpart that these acts cannot fall within the so-called freedom of expression and demonstration and these freedoms cannot be based on provoking the feelings of millions of Muslims around the world.

"The minister also stressed that these actions revive the environment of hatred, violence and extremism and represent a threat to peaceful and societal coexistence around the world,"he added.

"At the multilateral level, the Ministry of foreign affairs, through its minister, has held contacts with the Arab League, the organization of Islamic Cooperation and the European community, and the three organisations have issued statements condemning and denouncing and what has happened, considering these acts as dangerous and reviving extremist and terrorist ideas again,"he added.

He pointed out that" the Foreign Minister asked the organization of Islamic Cooperation to hold an emergency high-level meeting hosted by Baghdad in this regard to discuss the measures envisaged in such incidents and to develop the most important possible ways to reduce their recurrence, "noting that"the members of the organization and the secretariat welcomed Iraq's invitation to host this emergency meeting.

He pointed out that "the Iraqi Foreign Ministry renewed its demand to its Swedish counterpart on the importance of handing over the Quran burner to the Iraqi government to receive his fair punishment according to Iraqi law".