TEHRAN – Iran has reacted to the despicable act of burning the holy Quran by a Swedish fanatic and summoned the Scandinavian country’s chargé d’affaires to Tehran. 

The chargé d’affaires was summoned to the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Director General of the Western Europe Department in the absence of the country’s ambassador.

The official condemned the recent insult in Sweden against the most important Islamic sanctities, saying the Swedish government’s silence and passive behavior embolden violators of one of the basic and obvious principles of human rights, namely the principle of respect for religious and divine values, the foreign ministry said in a statement. 

While Muslims have been performing Hajj and honoring religious and Islamic rituals these days, insulting their sanctities solely serves to spread hatred and call for violence by abusing the principle of freedom of speech, the Swedish diplomat was told.

He added that such an ill-considered move was nothing new on Swedish soil, and that the Iranian side had previously relayed its dissatisfaction to Sweden.

If Sweden had taken action to stop such insults in time, no more desecration of Islamic sanctities would have taken place, the Iranian official said.

He added that the Islamic Republic, along with the entire Islamic world, does not tolerate any attack on the holy book of the Muslims or any greenlight for such moves, therefore, the Swedish government is expected to fulfill its most obvious duty in preventing insults to the spiritual and religious values of Muslims responsibly and in an effective and preemptive manner.

In response, the Swedish chargé d’affaires emphasized the Swedish government’s opposition to any form of Islamophobia, and stated that he would convey the protest to Stockholm as soon as possible.

A day earlier, the Director General of the Western Europe Department had relayed Iran’s condemnation of the desecration to the Swedish ambassador in a phone call.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian also reacted to the desecration of the holy Quran. He said allowing sacrilege to sanctities is unacceptable under any justification. “The Muslim world categorically condemns insult to holy scriptures & Quran,” the foreign minister said on Twitter.

He added, “Allowing sacrilege & insult to Quran under any justification by Sweden is unacceptable. Misusing democracy & freedom for such behavior would just only incite terrorism & extremism. The West only burns its fingers.”

The Swedish government’s move to allow a fanatic to burn the holy Quran in front of a mosque elicited strong reactions from almost all Muslim nations, which have been deeply insulted by the disgusting move. 

Also, Speaker of Iranian Parliament Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf condemned the Swedish government and police for providing the conditions for desecrating the holy Quran. 

“I strongly condemn the disrespect and audacity of the Swedish government and police in providing the ground for insulting the Holy Quran under the false cover of freedom of speech and action,” Qalibaf said on Twitter. 

He added the Muslims of the worlds will respond to this disgusting sacrilege in an appropriate manner. 

Iranian President Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi also reacted to the desecration of the holy Quran. In a Friday prayer sermon in Rafsanjan County, Kerman Province, Raisi lambasted the European countries for allowing the desecration of the holy Quran under the pretext of freedom of speech. 

He said the sacrilege against the holy Quran not only upset hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world, but also dismayed all believers of the Abrahamic religions. 

Also, a group of Iranians gathered in front of the Swedish embassy in Tehran to condemn the desecration of the holy Quran. The demonstrators called on human rights organizations to react to this move. They also called on the Iranian foreign ministry to take stronger stances in denouncing the desecration, saying that the summons of the Swedish envoy is not enough.