Iran Warns of Consequences of Quran Desecration in Sweden
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian called on Sweden to stop the promotion of division and violence in the wake of desecration of the Holy Quran, which he said will have serious consequences.
Amirabdollahian made the call in a telephone conversation with his Swedish counterpart Tobias Billstrom on Friday, a day after a man desecrated the Muslim holy book outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm.
The top Iranian diplomat said insulting the Quran and other books of divine religions is deplorable anywhere, no matter who does it under what circumstances.
Amirabdollahian added that such acts under the pretext of freedom of speech are unacceptable and unwarranted.
He added that Sweden must end this type of promoting division and violence which have dire consequences, the Foreign Ministry’s website reported.
"How can Sweden, which claims to be a pioneer in human rights, be indifferent to the desecration of religious sanctities less than 10 days after the approval of a resolution by the United Nations Human Rights Council, condemning such acts?" Amirabdollahian said.
He further bemoaned the fact that the Swedish police allowed the clear defiling of the main core of the conscience, and beliefs of all world Muslims by abusing freedom of speech.
“This is truly a blatant act of violence against Muslims. If the same happened to any of the Abrahamic religions and divine books, the perpetrator or members of the insulting group had to be arrested and tried while being deplored for such a move,” the Iranian minister said.
He noted that in addition to issuing a statement, the Swedish government must arrest and put on trial the perpetrator and hold him to account. “Otherwise, the Swedish government must be awaiting a decisive decision by Muslim nations,” Amirabdollahian warned.
Billstrom, for his part, said that the Swedish government condemns the desecration of the divine book of Muslims, the Holy Quran.
He said the Swedish prime minister and the official statement of the country's Foreign Ministry have explicitly stated that the desecration of the Quran is not the stance of the government in Stockholm.
Billstrom added that permits for rallies are issued by the Swedish police and nobody in Sweden gave a permit for the desecration of the Quran, but that person abused the permit and "we condemn it".
