Al-Azhar expressed its strong condemnation and denunciation of the burning of copies of the Holy Qur’an by some extremists in Sweden. In a statement issued Monday, Al-Azhar affirmed that encroaching on religious sanctities is not a matter of freedom of expression. It called for the need to ensure the necessary guarantees to protect the rights of Muslims to practice their religious rites in the societies in which they live. Egypt too strongly denounced the act of a group of extremists in Sweden who deliberately abused the Holy Qur’an, which led to fueling the feelings of Muslims around the world in the holy month of Ramadan. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry, in a statement Monday, stressed its rejection to tamper with religious beliefs whatever they are and the utilization of provocative practices that contradict with all human values and principles. It also called for adopting commonalities of tolerance, accepting others and peaceful coexistence among peoples, and discarding calls for incitement and hate. It called for refraining from acts of violence, sabotage and provocation that might harm the stability, security and safety of societies. The Arab Parliament also condemned the acts of some extremists in Sweden of deliberate abuse to the Holy Qur’an, provocations and incitement against Muslims. The parliament stressed its utmost rejection to use the motto of freedom of expression for abusing Islam and the sanctities of Islam, stating that these abuses contradict with all values and principles of religion and basic human rights. The Arab Parliament also called for enacting international laws that criminalize those who incite on hate, discrimination and anti-Islam, stressing that abusing Islam and religious beliefs in general only serves agendas of extremists who refuse others and coexistence. The parliament also highlighted the importance of joining international efforts to spread the values of dialogue, tolerance and coexistence, and to discard hate, violence and extremism, in addition to banning abuse to all religions and sanctities. In Manama, Bahrain denounced and strongly condemned the burning of copies of the Holy Qur’an in one of the cities of Sweden by extremists, in an act of provocation to Muslims, a grave insult to their sanctities, and incitement to hatred and violence, Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported. The Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that such abhorrent practices that contradict freedom of religions, beliefs and coexistence should be strongly condemned by the international community. The ministry called for concerted efforts to consolidate the values of tolerance, coexistence and religious freedoms, to combat extremism, fanaticism and exclusion, and to prevent abuse of all religions and beliefs. In Amman, Jordan strongly condemned the burning in the Swedish city of Mambo of a copy of the Holy Qur’an. Spokesperson of Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Haitham Abu Al-Foul said the act is condemned and rejected as it is inconsistent with all religious values and principles as well as the principles of human rights and basic freedoms as it fuels the feelings of hatred and violence and threatens peaceful co-existence. He added that there is a collective responsibility for spreading and enhancing the culture of peace and acceptance of other parties, raising awareness of shared values and enriching the values of tolerance and harmony, renouncing extremism, fanaticism and incitement to hatred on bases of religion or belief. Abu Al-Foul asserted the importance of rejecting all kinds of violence and called for resorting to peaceful means in expressing view points without causing strife or offending the feelings of others. In Islamabad, Pakistan strongly condemns the recent abhorrent act of desecration of the Holy Qur’an during rallies in Sweden. Pakistan also strongly condemns the offensive remarks made by a Dutch politician, attacking Islam and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. In a statement issued by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, Pakistan affirmed that these mindless provocative Islamophobic incidents serve no purpose other than hurting the sensitivities of over 1.5 billion Muslims living all over the world. It pointed out that such actions are not covered under legitimate expressions of the right to freedom of expression or opinion, which carry responsibilities under international human rights law, such as the obligation not to carry out hate speech and incite people to violence. The statement asserted that the international community needs to show a common resolve against xenophobia, intolerance and extremism. — SPA