Iran Urges UN Action against Desecration of Quran

The Iranian foreign minister addressed a letter to UN chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday, hours after Salwan Momik, a Sweden-based Iraqi refugee, stomped on a copy of the Quran and kicked the Muslim holy book during a demonstration outside Stockholm’s main mosque amid strict protection provided for the rally by the Swedish police.

The act of sacrilege has opened the floodgates of protest across the world's Muslim community, including in Iran, which has summoned the Swedish ambassador to Tehran, conveying the Islamic Republic's vehement condemnation of the heinous act.

What follows is the text of Amirabdollahian’s letter, released by the Foreign Ministry:

“In the Name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful

Honorable Secretary General of the United Nations

Your Excellency Mr. Antonio Guterres,

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.

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.

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.

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.

Hossein Amirabdollahian

Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran”