Jordan condemns desecrations of Holy Koran in Sweden, Denmark during OIC session

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi on Monday virtually participated in the 18th extraordinary session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) over the desecration and repeated burning of copies of the Holy Koran in Sweden and Denmark.

Safadi said that the organisation's meeting "is a clear and direct message that we refuse to abuse our religious symbols, and condemn the burning of copies of the Holy Koran and attempts to abuse it as hate crimes that must be prevented from recurring", according to a Foreign Ministry statement. 

Addressing the meeting, the minister added that respect for religious symbols and holy sites is an overarching human value, and a must to instil within the culture of respect for others. 

He stressed that the abuse of the Holy Koran is an incitement of hatred, an expression of rejection, a perpetuation of Islamophobia and an aggravating provocation of the feelings of approximately two billion Muslims, adding that such abuse cannot in any way be justified within the context of freedom of expression.

Safadi stressed the need to take immediate steps to criminalise and prevent the abuse of religious sanctity to stop extremists from spreading the agenda of hatred and racism, which poses a threat to all societies.

The minister stressed the need to commit to contents of UN resolutions, which call for global efforts to promote tolerance, peace and inter-civilisational dialogue, the most recent of which is the resolution titled  “Promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance in countering hate speech”, adopted unanimously by the UN General Assembly a few days earlier.

He added that the draft resolution of the UN Human Rights Council must be built upon at its emergency session aimed at combating religious hatred through laws criminalising the abuse of religious symbols and holy sites.

Safadi noted that the Swedish government began a review of the law governing public order in light of repeated attempts to desecrate the Holy Koran.

He added: "We believe that this is a step on the right path, which should end with a resolution to prevent abuse of the Holy Koran and religious symbols, to counter the culture of hatred and its racist promoters," noting that such a step would further contribute to the promotion of intercultural respect and peace.

The minister commended the proposals made by Iraq's Minister for Foreign Affairs Fouad Hussein, who called for the extraordinary meeting, describing them as practical steps that could be taken collectively to address the attempts to desecrate the Holy Koran, and enact international laws criminalising such acts and preventing their recurrence.

Safadi condemned all attacks on Jerusalem and its holy sites, including the incursion of two extremist ministers of the Israeli government into Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif a few days earlier.

He stressed that Al Aqsa Mosque, with its full area of 144 dunums, is a place of worship for Muslims alone, and that the Jordan-run Jerusalem Awqaf and Aqsa Affairs Department has the exclusive authority to supervise the holy site’s affairs and manage its entries.

The minister stressed that the Kingdom, under direct follow-ups from His Majesty King Abdullah, as the Hashemite Custodian of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, will continue to exert all efforts to protect the holy sites, their identity and their legal and historical status quo.

Safadi said: “As our joint challenges become exacerbated, joint action in facing them is a must imposed by common interests, security and a collective duty in defending our issues and our religion.” 

He also expressed his condolences to Pakistan over the victims of a recent terrorist attack, expressing the Kingdom's solidarity in combating terrorism.