Arab League chief denounces repeated Quran burning in Sweden

CAIRO – 21 July 2023: Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Abul Gheit has condemned in the strongest terms the Swedish authorities for allowing an extremist person to burn and desecrate a copy of the Holy Quran in Stockholm for the second time in weeks.

Abul Gheit said this heinous act is a huge and unacceptable provocation to the sentiments of Muslims everywhere around the world, said the Arab League chief’s spokesman Gamal Roshdy.

The Arab League chief warned weeks ago of the consequences of allowing such provocative actions by the Swedish authorities, which he said only contribute to spreading the discourse of extremism.

The Quran burning by an Iraqi extremist in Sweden this week have triggered condemnations by many countries around the world and caused a number of states to summon Sweden’s envoys to protest against the incident.

Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran and Jordan have all condemned the Quran burning incident.

The Iraqi government ordered the Swedish ambassador in Baghdad to leave the country, recalling its charge d'affaires in Sweden and suspending business with Swedish companies.

On Thursday, Silwan Momika, a refugee residing in Sweden, stepped on and kicked the Quran, Muslims’ holy book, outside the Iraqi Embassy in Stockholm in a protest authorized by Swedish police.

Momika also burned the Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm in June in a protest approved by police.

Also, a far-right extremist from Denmark carried out a Quran burning outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, causing a major rift in the relations between Turkey and Sweden.

Egypt has condemned Swedish authorities for allowing the extremist to burn and tear apart the Quran repeatedly in Stockholm, affirming that such incident goes beyond freedom of expression, provokes the feelings of millions of Muslims around the world and violates their sanctities.