Just days after a sacrilege of the Holy Quran occurred outside a mosque in Stockholm, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday called for collaborative steps to prevent similar desecrations.
The 57-person group convened at its Jeddah offices to discuss the attack on Muslims in Sweden by Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika, 37. In Europe, the tragedy happened during the Eidul Adha holiday.
In a statement released following the “extraordinary” meeting on Sunday, the OIC encouraged member states to “take unified and collective measures to prevent the recurrence of incidents of desecration of the Quran.”
“stressed the need to send a clear message that acts of desecration” of the Quran are “not mere ordinary Islamophobia incidents,” the statement continued, quoting OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha.
As the author puts it, “we must send constant reminders to the international community regarding the urgent application of international law, which clearly prohibits any advocacy of religious hatred.”
Taha’s condemnation of Momika’s “despicable act” was in line with the worldwide outcry that has followed the incident, including protests outside the Swedish embassy in Baghdad and the recalling of Swedish ambassadors by Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco.
Hossein Amirabdollahian, Iran’s foreign minister, announced on Twitter on Sunday that Iran would not be sending a new ambassador to Sweden, Hojjatollah Faghani, in protest of the Swedish government’s permission to Momika.
“committed by individuals at demonstrations in Sweden [that] can be offensive to Muslims,” the Swedish government said Sunday of the “Islamophobic” act near Stockholm’s largest mosque.
The Swedish foreign ministry released a statement in response to the OIC’s appeal for collective measures to prevent future anti-Islamic acts, saying, “We strongly condemn these acts, which in no way reflect the views of the Swedish government.”
It was called “an offensive and disrespectful act and a clear provocation” in the statement, which also stated that racism, xenophobia, and similar intolerance had no place in Sweden or Europe.
Despite receiving a permission from Swedish police in accordance with free speech rules, Momika is now under investigation for “agitation against an ethnic group,” with authorities noting that the act was committed in close proximity to a mosque.
