Tunisia strongly condemns burning of Quran copy in Sweden

By Mehmet Turan

ISTANBUL (AA) – Tunisia on Thursday strongly condemned the burning of a copy of the Muslims' holy Quran by an extremist in the Swedish capital of Stockholm.

The Foreign Ministry in a statement expressed its "categorical rejection" of the "crime" of burning the Quran copy, stressing that such practice is far from the freedom of expression, referring to some countries' statements that justify the act as a pretext for free expression.

The ministry said such an incident in Stockholm is against universal humanitarian values.

It called on the international community to urgently intervene to put an end to the repeated incidents of burning of Quran copies and the rise of the Islamophobia phenomenon, and to prosecute those responsible.

On Wednesday, a person identified as Salwan Momika burned a copy of the Muslim holy book under police protection in front of the Stockholm Mosque.

The extremist's provocative act was timed to coincide with Eid al-Adha, one of the major Islamic religious festivals celebrated by Muslims worldwide.

The “crime” of burning a Quran copy elicited widespread condemnation from the Islamic world, including Türkiye, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Senegal, Morocco, and Mauritania.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar