RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry summoned on Sunday the Swedish ambassador to the Kingdom to inform her of its categorical rejection of the Qur’an burning incident that recently took place in Sweden.
On June 28, Salwan Momika, 37, a refugee from Iraq, desecrated the Qur’an and set fire to its pages in front of the Central Mosque in Stockholm, prompting widespread outrage and condemnation of the act across the Muslim and Arab world.
The Kingdom’s foreign ministry condemned and denounced the burning of a copy of the holy book on June 29 and summoned Swedish envoy Petra Menander on Sunday.
The ministry calls upon the Swedish government to stop all acts that directly contradict international efforts to spread the values of tolerance, moderation and rejection of extremism, and that undermine mutual respect necessary for relations between peoples and countries.
The executive committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation also held a meeting in Jeddah on Sunday to discuss the consequences arising from the incident.
The OIC firmly denounced the act, which it said undermines mutual respect among people and global efforts to foster tolerance and moderation.
