Al-Sahhaf: Iraq and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation sent a letter to Sweden

INA - BAGHDAD 

Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in Stockholm and the representatives of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation countries in Sweden sent a written letter to the Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, in which they expressed their strong condemnation of the repeated assault on the sanctity of the Holy Quran in the Kingdom of Sweden.

"The embassy of the Republic of Iraq in Stockholm, in coordination with representatives of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Sweden, sent a written letter to the Swedish Foreign Minister, Tobias Bilstrom, in which they expressed their strong condemnation of the repeated assault on  The sanctity of the Holy Quran in the Kingdom of Sweden," said the spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Al-Sahhaf, to the Iraqi News Agency - INA.

He added, "In the letter, they emphasized that these actions lead to incitement to hatred and discrimination against individuals or groups who believe in a particular religion or belief, and that giving permission to burn the Holy Qur'an by the Swedish authorities sends a message that these offensive acts targeting beliefs are acceptable. This directly contradicts various United Nations resolutions and Articles 19 and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which highlights the importance of promoting religious tolerance and respect for diversity, as well as protecting individuals' freedom of religion and belief."

In turn, the Swedish Foreign Minister responded with a message, according to Al-Sahhaf, in which "he thanked the ambassadors and heads of missions of the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Sweden for the joint message he received from them, and said;  I note the concern you express in your letter and I hope to assure you that all acts of Islamophobia in any form are strongly rejected by the Swedish government, and I am fully aware that Muslims, in Sweden and in OIC countries around the world, suffer great abuse from such acts. The desecration of the Qur'an, or any other holy book, is offensive and disrespectful."

The Swedish minister indicated that his country's government "strongly rejects the attempts of extremists and instigators to try to sow division between Muslims and non-Muslims, and that his country's government does not support the views of Islamophobia in any way, whether expressed during the demonstrations or anywhere else."

"Sweden has a constitutional right to freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and freedom to demonstrate, so we deeply regret that individuals use these freedoms to insult what is sacred to religion - and the important part of Swedish society that joins the Islamic faith," he included.