Their outrage over this is all in service of the
longterm goal of intimidating the West into discarding the freedom of
expression and adopting Sharia blasphemy restrictions. “‘Over 1.5 billion Muslims hurt’: Reaction to Quran desecration in Sweden,” TRT World, January 21, 2023:
Muslim world has erupted in anger and alarm after Sweden
allowed a far-right racist politician Rasmus Paludan to burn a copy of
the Muslim Holy book Quran in front of the Turkish embassy building in
Stockholm.
Here are some of the first reactions:
Türkiye
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the vile attack on our
holy book, the Quran, in Sweden today (21 January), despite our repeated
warnings earlier,” a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said.
Calling the act “an outright hate crime,” the ministry said:
“Permitting this anti-Islam act, which targets Muslims and insults our
sacred values, under the guise of freedom of expression is completely
unacceptable.” “This despicable act is yet another example of the alarming level
that Islamophobia and, racist and discriminatory movements have reached
in Europe.”
Pakistan
“This senseless and provocative Islamophobic act hurts the religious
sensitivities of over 1.5 billion Muslims around the world,” said a
statement from the Pakistani Foreign Ministry.
Such actions are “not covered under any legitimate expression of the
right to freedom of expression or opinion, which carries
responsibilities under international human rights law, such as the
obligation not to carry out hate speech and incite people to violence.”
“Pakistan’s concerns are being conveyed to the authorities in Sweden.
We urge them to be mindful of the sentiments of the people of Pakistan
and the Muslims worldwide and take steps to prevent Islamophobic acts,”
the statement added.
Kuwait
The incident “hurts Muslims’ sentiments across the world and marks
serious provocation,” Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al
Jaber Al Sabah said in statements cited by the state news agency KUNA.
He called on the international community “to shoulder responsibility
by stopping such unacceptable acts and denouncing all forms of hatred
and extremism and brining the perpetrators to accountability.”…
Qatar
Qatar condemned the Swedish authorities’ permission to burn the Holy
Quran and call on the international community to shoulder its
responsibilities to reject hatred and violence.
Iran
Calling it an attempt to stoke hatred and violence against Muslims,
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said some European
countries under the false pretext of advocating freedom of speech “allow
extremist and radical elements to spread hatred against Islamic
sanctities and values”.
Kanaani said despite the strong emphasis on human rights in Islam,
Europeans continue to “institutionalise anti-Islamism and Islamophobia”
in their societies.
He added that the desecration of the Quran is a “clear example of
spreading hatred and fueling violence against Muslims”, which has
“nothing to do with freedom of speech and thought”….
Egypt
Egypt expressed its strong condemnation of the disgraceful act that
provokes the feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims around the
world.
Egypt warned of the dangers of the spread of such acts that offend
religions and fuel hate speech and violence, calling for upholding the
values of tolerance and peaceful coexistence and preventing offense to
all religions and their sanctities through such extremist practices that
contradict the values of respect for religion.
Organization of Islamic Cooperation
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation bloc said the “provocative
action… targets Muslims, insults their sacred values, and serves as
further example of the alarming level reached by 
