OIC urges Sweden, Denmark to adopt ‘official’ stance over Quran sacrilege

Hissein Ibrahim Taha, the OIC secretary general, renewed his call on the Swedish and Danish authorities to take formal measures and expressed his disappointment that “no measures had been taken in this regard so far.”

In a resolution, the OIC chief expressed “grave concern” over the increasing incidences of intolerance, discrimination and acts of violence in the world, and said attempts to spread Islamophobia are on the rise in many parts of the world, as evidenced by the increasing number of incidents of religious intolerance, negative stereotypes, hatred and violence against Muslims.

“Not taking measures by the authorities in Sweden and Denmark to prevent the recurrence of such acts is contrary to UN Security Council Resolution No.2686 (2023) adopted on June 14, 2023 pertaining to international tolerance, peace, and security,” Ibrahim Taha stated.

The OIC head also condemned all attempts to desecrate the Qur’an as well as other holy books, values and symbols of Islam and other religions under the guise of freedom of expression, and called upon the international community to unanimously stand against such provocative attempts.

The resolution further called on member states to consider taking necessary measures in their interactions with countries where the desecration of the Holy Quran is occurring, especially Sweden and Denmark, including recalling their ambassadors, or making decisions in economic, cultural, or other fields to express their strong disapproval of the recurring disrespect towards the Quran.