Desecration of Holy Quran: Pakistan asks world to work jointly for interfaith harmony

ISLAMABAD: While strongly condemning another provocative and deeply offensive act of desecration of the Holy Quran in The Hague on 18 August 2023, Pakistan on Saturday called upon the international community to raise its voice against Islamophobia and work collectively to promote interfaith harmony.

“This deliberate Islamophobic act deeply hurts the feelings of two billion Muslims around the world and threatens peaceful coexistence and inter-religious harmony. Such offensive acts cannot be covered under legitimate freedom of expression, opinion and protest. International law obliges States to prevent and prohibit deliberate incitement to hatred, discrimination and violence on the basis of religion or belief,” said the Foreign Office in a statement. However, The News understands from official sources that the Foreign Office has still not summoned the Netherlands ambassador.

Pakistan, it added, believes that freedom of expression comes with responsibilities and it was the responsibility of national governments and the international community at large to prevent racist, xenophobic and Islamophobic acts.

“That was the spirit behind the resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2022 to mark 15 March as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.

“Pakistan’s concerns are being conveyed to the authorities in the Netherlands.

We urge them to be mindful of the sentiments of Muslims around the world and take steps to prevent such hateful and Islamophobic acts,” it added.

Meanwhile, Sweden’s government is mulling wider powers to police under some changes to its Public Order Act, to restrict acts of hate against religions, such as the burning of Holy Quran, after recent Islamophobic incidents in the Scandinavian country stirred anger among Muslims, a foreign news agency reported.

However, the legal amendments will be done only if such incidents threaten national security, the government said on Friday.