TEHRAN – Iran has strongly reacted to the desecration of the holy Quran in Sweden, taking a set of measures with the aim of putting an end to the sacrilege to the holy book.

A number of people in Tehran demonstrated on Friday to protest the repetition of desecration of the holy Quran after the Friday prayers.  Also, huge nationwide demonstrations were held on Friday across Iran to protest the repetition of desecration of the holy Quran in Sweden. 

People from all walks of life participated in the demonstrations, which were held immediately after the weekly Friday prayers across the country.

Demonstrators demanded that Iran’s foreign ministry, along with other Muslim countries, reconsider their relations with Sweden, which issued formal permission for the desecration of the holy Quran.

This is the second time in a few weeks that Sweden angers the Muslim world by allowing a fanatic to burn the holy Quran. The first desecration caused global uproar and pitted the whole Muslim world against the Scandinavian country. While there was hope that Sweden puts an end to provoking Muslims, the Swedish government shocked them by issuing another permission, not just for Quran burning, but also for setting fire to the Iraqi flag in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, which raised many questions as to the real motives behind the move. 

In Iran, the desecration of the holy Quran was met with nationwide anger, with many student unions calling for stronger measures against Sweden, including severing diplomatic ties. 

Also, a group of people gathered in front of the Swedish embassy in Tehran on Friday in protest to the desecration of the holy Quran.

Iran summons Swedish envoy 

In response to the fresh desecration of the holy Quran in Sweden, the country’s ambassador to Tehran was summoned by the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman on Thursday evening to file Iran’s strong protest against this sacrilegious move, according to the Iranian foreign ministry. 

Addressing the Swedish envoy, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said, “We strongly condemn the repetition of the desecration of the holy Quran and the Islamic sanctities in Sweden and we believe that the Swedish government is fully responsible for the consequences of provoking the sentiments of world Muslims”.

Nasser Kanaani added that the continuation of insults to Islamic sanctities and hate-mongering by so doing are a perfect example of organized violence and a hostile move against two billion Muslims of the world, God-believing people and followers of divine religions.

The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said, “How come a country which claims to be a defender of human rights and civil rights allows the rights of over two billion Muslims worldwide and nearly one million Swedish Muslim citizens to be violated?”

Referring to the recent resolution approved by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva against the desecration of the holy Quran, Kanaani said the Swedish government’s move to again allow the defiling of the holy Quran shows it is indifferent to the resolutions of international human rights bodies. He demanded the Swedish government fulfill its international responsibilities in preventing the repetition of such regrettable acts which constitute a violation of human rights and are in contradiction to religious and human values.

Kanaani said the Islamic Republic of Iran believes that any insult to religious sanctities and divine books anywhere by anyone is deplorable. He noted that any freedom of speech which is meant to violate the dignity, values and religious sanctities of good and God-loving people is not freedom of speech and has no value. The Swedish ambassador said he would immediately convey Iran’s protest to the European country’s government.

 Iran FM takes action

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian also moved to condemn the disgusting move of desecrating the holy Quran. He spoke over the phone with his Iraqi counterpart, Fuad Hossein. In this call, they strongly condemned the desecration of the holy Quran in Sweden. During the telephone conversation, Hossein Amir Abdollahian and Fuad Hussein, described the defiling of the Quran as an insult to rationality and freedom of speech and condemned the irresponsible behavior of the Swedish government.

The top diplomats of Iran and Iraq then underlined the need for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to hold a meeting.

Also, the Iranian foreign minister sent a letter to Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres in this regard. 

“The regrettable news of the fresh desecration of the holy Quran in Sweden has severely hurt the feelings of the world's Muslims and followers of divine religions, and the shock and worry caused by such sacrilegious acts are spreading,” Amir Abdollahian said in the letter, adding, “The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the Swedish authorities’ move to give permission for the profane and provocative act of defiling the Quran-the holy book of world Muslims- which has happened for the second time in the past month and it strongly warns that the continuation of such acts under the guise of freedom of speech constitutes a gross insult to all Muslims and provokes different communities with the aim of promoting Islamophobia and extremism.”

He added, “Undoubtedly, allowing people to insult the Quran or the flagrant desecration of the Quran or any holy book of the divine religions both stem from the same mindset, which pursues Islamophobia and de-Islamization by abusing freedom of speech, and it will have irreversible consequences, including the spread of hate, violence and xenophobia in different countries. The persistence of such acts will ultimately pose a serious threat to peace and peaceful coexistence of the followers of different divine religions.”

The Iranian foreign minister concluded, “On this basis, I request Your Excellency to immediately condemn this action, take necessary measures ASAP in order to prevent the repetition and the dangerous implications of the expansion and persistence of this insulting and provocative phenomenon. I also request Your Excellency to ask the member states of the United Nations to deal strongly with the orchestrators and perpetrators of this action.”

Amir Abdollahian also said on Twitter that the repetition of the desecration of the holy Quran and the irresponsible move of the Swedish government to support this disgusting act is highly deplorable. Insulting the beliefs and divine books has no place in any of the divine religions, he said, adding that Iran, alongside other Muslim countries and those that believe in divine books, is ready to take coordinated and deterring action.

Also, the Swedish foreign minister, Tobias Lennart Billström, called his Iranian counterpart in a bid to placate Iran. He condemned the desecration of the holy Quran, saying it does not represent the position of the Swedish government. Billström said the Swedish police issues permission for demonstrations not for desecrating the holy Quran. But the person who burned the holy Quran abused the permission. 

Amir Abdollahian, for his part, said desecrating the holy Quran under the pretext of freedom of expression is not acceptable. He called on Sweden to stop the promotion of discord and violence. He said the person who desecrated the holy Quran should be arrested and put on trial. 
 

By Soheila Zarfam