TEHRAN- Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Iran’s Foreign Minister, has emphasized the need to prevent actions of religious hatred that generate prejudice, animosity, and violence.

Speaking on Tuesday at the 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, he said that any delay in denouncing and stopping the blasphemous burning of the Holy Quran reveals “double standards” on the part of the international community.

The most recent burning of the Quran in Sweden, according to Amir Abdollahian, was the sixth such event across European nations in 2023. 

He called it “an act that brazenly incites violence, hatred, discrimination, and hostility against Muslims.”

The top Iranian diplomat continued by saying, “Burning the Quran is not only a violation of human rights, but also an infringement on the rights of more than two billion Muslims across the world. Such abhorrent actions must be immediately condemned by all advocates of human rights.”

Amir Abdollahian emphasized the necessity of locating and closing “legal loopholes” on both national and international scale in order to immediately stop the insult to the Holy Quran from happening again.

“We adamantly urge the authorities of Sweden and other European countries to take immediate and effective measures against the perpetrators of such appalling acts in order to prevent their recurrence in the future,” he added. 

Amir Abdollahian also urged nations throughout the world to confront religious hatred crimes that promote prejudice, antagonism, and violence. 

The foreign minister underscored that “any kind of hesitation or delay in denouncing or preventing such actions will only reinforce perceptions of double standards and justify the abuse of freedom of expression.”

Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi immigrant, trampled on the Quran before lighting some pages on fire in front of Stockholm’s largest mosque on June 28. The disrespect to the Muslim holy book was committed with the permission and protection of Swedish police.

Muslims from all over the globe were outraged by the sacrilegious incident. It happened as Muslims were marking the Eid al-Adha feast and the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca was being concluded.

Following the event, thousands of Iraqis gathered close to the Swedish embassy in Baghdad to condemn the burning of the holy book and demand the ambassador’s expulsion.

People protested the action in the streets in other Muslim nations as well.

In recent years, Sweden has routinely allowed the burning of the Quran. For example, near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm a Swedish-Danish right-wing extremist burnt a copy of the Quran in January.