Muslim countries blast Qur’an desecration in Denmark

On Friday, the far-right anti-Muslim group Patrioterne Gar Live displayed Islamophobic banners and desecrated the Quran and the Turkish flag in front of the Turkish Embassy in Copenhagen. The far-right group also broadcast it live on their Facebook page.

Qatar on Saturday strongly condemned the burning of a copy of the Holy Quran in the Danish capital.

In a statement, Qatar’s foreign ministry said the "heinous incident is an act of incitement and a serious provocation to the feelings of more than 2 billion Muslims in the world, especially in the holy month of Ramadan."

It added that such acts fuel hatred and violence and "threaten the values of peaceful coexistence."

The ministry reiterated its call for backing the values of tolerance and coexistence, and "to establish the principles of international peace and security through dialogue and understanding."

Jordan’s foreign ministry spokesperson, in a statement, described the act as "an inciting and racist one that provokes Muslims' feelings".

Sinan Majali emphasized that burning the Quran is a serious act of hate and a manifestation of Islamophobia that incites violence and insults to religions.
Majali went on to state that such acts cannot be considered a form of freedom of expression.

He called on Danish authorities to take responsibility and stop such irresponsible behavior and actions that fuel violence and hatred, threatening peaceful coexistence.

The Jordanian foreign ministry also called on the international community to assume its responsibilities by confronting these acts and preventing them.

It urged for the promotion of a culture of peace and acceptance of the other, raising awareness of the values of common respect, enriching the values of harmony and tolerance, and rejecting extremism, fanaticism and incitement to hatred as a collective responsibility that everyone must abide by.

In Turkey, too, the foreign ministry denounced the late Friday incident as a "hate crime," saying Ankara will never accept such "vile actions being allowed under the guise of freedom of expression."

Turkey urged Danish authorities to take immediate action against the perpetrators and concrete measures to prevent further provocations that threaten social harmony and peaceful coexistence.

It noted that the act amounts to a hate crime and displays the worrying level of anti-Muslim hatred, discrimination, and xenophobia in Europe.

Recent months have seen several acts of Quran burning, or attempts to do so, by Islamophobic figures or groups in northern Europe and Nordic countries, especially in Denmark and Sweden.