Diksia.com - Vatican, Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church and the Vatican’s head of state, also condemned the burning of the Koran last week in Stockholm, Sweden.
The Pope called the act “an abomination” and urged people not to tolerate blasphemy under the pretext of freedom of expression.
This was reported by Pope Francis in an interview with UAE media Al Ittihad. In an interview, Pope Francis was adamantly opposed to the burning of the Quran.
As quoted by Vatican News (Monday [7 March 2023]), Pope Francis told al-Ittihad that he was “angered and disgusted by this action”.
“Any book held sacred must be respected in order to honor its faith, and freedom of expression must not be used as an excuse to insult others; and omission of this is rejected, It must be condemned,” he continued.
The Muslim world was shocked when Iraqi citizen Salwan Momika stepped on the Koran and burned several pages in front of a Stockholm mosque.
The action was carried out by Salwan after the Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Pardan also burned the Quran in Stockholm.
Various sources criticized Sweden for allowing the Koran to be burned.
Many countries, especially Muslim-majority countries, have summoned their ambassadors to Sweden over the incident.
On Sunday (2/7), Stockholm, at the request of the Organization of Islamic Congress (OIC), condemned the burning of the Qur’an, which it authorized.
Sweden considers the act a form of “Islamophobia”.
A plan to burn the Quran in Sweden has sparked protests in recent months.
Swedish police had previously rejected requests for similar protests, but a court later ruled that protests should be allowed on grounds of freedom of expression.
The Swedish government itself subsequently condemned the burning of the Quran.
The Koran burning incident also prompted thousands of Iraqi demonstrators to attack the Swedish embassy in the country.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Christersson condemned the invasion, but stressed that it was time for Sweden to reflect on its identity.
