loading…
Saudi Arabia strongly condemns the burning of the Koran in Denmark. PHOTO/Fredrik Sanberg-TT
RIYADH – Arab Saudi curse hard burning copies of the Quran by extremists in the capital Denmark , Copenhagen. Riyadh considers the action as a new provocative step against the sentiments of millions of Muslims around the world.
“Reaffirming the position of the Kingdom, which categorically rejects all the blatant actions which have unfortunately been repeated in several European capitals recently, under the pretext of freedom of expression, with no clear reaction to stop these practices,” the foreign ministry statement said. Saudi Arabia, as quoted from Arab News, Saturday (28/1/2023).
Baca: Al-Qur’an Burned Again, MUI Asks OIC to Speak Out Loud at UN Forum
“The Kingdom calls on all European governments where these extremist abuses have taken place, to immediately deal with all practices that contribute to fueling hatred and conflict between adherents of religions,” the statement continued.
Previously, Rasmus Paludan, a right-wing activist with Danish and Swedish nationality, had angered the Muslim world by protesting the burning of the Koran in Sweden on January 21.
On Friday (27/1/2023), Paludan also imitated this action in front of a Turkish Embassy mosque in Copenhagen and promised to continue every Friday until Sweden is accepted into NATO.
Baca: Mute Koran Burned, Russia Calls Sweden Coward
Several regional and international organizations, including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Muslim World League, the Arab Parliament and the Gulf Cooperation Council, also issued statements strongly condemning the incident, along with Pakistan, Jordan, Turkey and Oman.
Apart from condemning the burning of the Koran, Saudi Arabia also warned about the situation between Palestine and Israel which had escalated after the attack on a synagogue in Jerusalem.
“The kingdom condemns the targeting of civilians, stressing the need to stop the escalation, revive the peace process and end the occupation,” the kingdom’s foreign ministry said.
Baca: The Qur’an is Burned Again, PBNU Chairman Gus Yahya: Rasmus Paludan Has Done in Vain
World leaders have also condemned the escalating violence and called for calm after a series of deadly incidents in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
The Israeli attack on the Jenin refugee camp on Thursday killed nine Palestinians. This was followed by a deadly shooting outside a Jerusalem synagogue on Friday and a gun attack by a 13-year-old Palestinian boy that injured two people in the city on Saturday.
(esn)
