DICID condemns the burning of the Holy Quran in Sweden and the Netherlands and warns of the consequences of offending religious sanctuaries

26 Jan DICID condemns the burning of the Holy Quran in Sweden and the Netherlands and warns of the consequences of offending religious sanctuaries

Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue denounces and strongly condemns the vile act of burning the Holy Quran by the leader of the far-right Hard Line party Rasmus Paludan on Saturday in Sweden in front of the Turkish Embassy in the Swedish capital and under the protection of the local police in the name of freedom of expression. DICID also denounces and strongly condemns the vile act of tearing off the Quran by an extremist; Edwin Wagensveld, Dutch leader of the far-right German anti-Islam movement PEGIDA in the Dutch city of The Hague – Netherlands, on Monday.

DICID strongly affirms its condemnation of these criminal acts, which are considered a massive offense, disgrace, and provocation to the feelings of nearly one and a half billion Muslims around the world, not to mention the obstacles that this type of act puts in the way of efforts to spread the values of dialogue, tolerance and coexistence, and the rejection of hatred and extremism.
It must be remembered that this act of terrorism was committed publicly in the presence of the media and under the protection of the security forces, under the pretext of freedom of expression, without taking into account and respecting human values, pluralism, and coexistence, which require respect for religious sanctities.

DICID believes that such a phenomenon can only be described as an obstacle to dialogue and peace-building, a destruction of the successful efforts that religious leaders around the world have made over the years at our conferences and in international forums and meetings, and a weakening of the efforts of all parties to establish peace and coexistence among the followers of religions, as well as an increase in intolerance and extremism, which cause great harm at the international level and in relations between peoples.

In addition, DICID calls on all its partners working in the field of interfaith dialogue and peacebuilding, as well as religious leaders and all those responsible for guiding opinion and thought, not to violate the religions whose sanctity we affirm and the sanctity of their symbols from the holy books, prophets, and messengers, and to play a positive role in combating such shameful practices.
On the other hand, Muslims must face this event with the opposite of what is expected of them, and they must show wisdom and not be led by this intended incitement.