In a press conference held in LAHORE, the top ecclesiastical leaders of Pakistan’s Christian community condemned the destruction of the Holy Quran by an Iraqi refugee in Sweden and called on the Swedish authorities to prevent provocative acts of this kind.
“The bishops of the Church of Pakistan, representing the Pakistani Christian community, denounce the burning of the Holy Quran, reportedly by an atheist whose intentions were clearly to sow discord and damage peace around the world,” read a joint statement issued by Reverend Emmanuel Khokhar, the Church of Pakistan’s spokesperson.
The seven diocesan bishops released a joint statement saying that no one who respects sacred texts can accept the desecration of religious texts of any kind.
The right to express oneself freely should never be exploited to express contempt for others. The statement quoted Church of Pakistan President Bishop Dr. Azad Marshall as saying, “Such actions are committed by individuals who have no association with any religion and they do this to further their own vested interests.”
Our Muslim brothers and sisters can rest certain that the Christian community in Pakistan shares their agony and anguish, as expressed by Bishop Marshall.
We have spoken out before and we will speak out again against any religiously offensive behaviour. He said that statements like his openly promoted hatred, exclusion, and bigotry.
According to the statement, all major churches in Sweden, as well as France, Norway, and Denmark, passed resolutions condemning the recent acts of hatred.
