Swedish Quran burning perpetuates hate, says Dr Anwar Gargash

UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summons Swedish ambassador to offer strong condemnation of incident

Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE President, strongly criticised the burning of a Quran in Sweden. Victor Besa / The National

Latest: Protesters surround Swedish embassy in Baghdad

Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE President, has condemned “blatant and repeated attacks” on the Islamic faith made under the guise of “freedom of opinion” after an activist in Sweden burnt the Quran in a public protest.

In an impassioned message on social media on Thursday, the senior Emirati diplomat said such actions serve only to “perpetuate hatred and rivalry”.

Police in Stockholm had given permission to Salwan Momika, a self-described atheist from Iraq and member of a far-right Swedish party, to carry out the stunt outside a mosque in the city on Wednesday, the first day of Eid Al Adha.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson later said the demonstration, in which pages of the religious text were torn and set alight, was “legal but not appropriate”.

Police said security risks did not justify blocking the protest – after authorities were overruled by a court when they tried to ban previous rallies.

“The blatant and repeated attacks on our Islamic faith under the pretext of freedom of opinion perpetuate hatred and rivalry, as the violation of the sacred deepens the value and ideological confrontation,” Dr Gargash wrote on Twitter on Thursday.

“The western world must realise that its value system and its justification for it cannot be imposed on the world.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs later summoned Liselott Andersson, Swedish ambassador to the Emirates, to inform her of the UAE's “strong condemnation” of the Swedish government for allowing the act to take place and to deliver a note of protest, state news agency Wam stated on Thursday.

It said Sweden's government had evaded its international responsibility and failed to respect social values.

The Arab League, at the level of foreign ministers, on Thursday condemned the incident and described it as a “horrific act [that] incites hatred and violence and upsets and offends the feelings of over two billion Muslims worldwide”, news agency Wam reported.

“The council emphasised the need to address such perilous acts of hatred that inspire violence and insult religions, and urged the global community to treat such behaviours as crimes of hatred and incitement,” the statement added.

Iraq described the “irresponsible actions” as racist in a statement issued on Thursday.

“These acts demonstrate a hateful and aggressive spirit that goes against the principles of freedom of expression,” the Iraqi government said.

“They are not only racist but also promote violence and hatred.

“These irresponsible actions, in direct conflict with the values of respect for diversity and the beliefs of others, are unequivocally condemned.”

Crowds of protesters gathered around the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday, apparently breaching security at the front of the building, hours after radical cleric Moqtada Al Sadr called for demonstrations at the site.

It was not clear if diplomats were present or had been evacuated.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticised Sweden for allowing the protest to take place.

“We will eventually teach the arrogant westerners that insulting Muslims is not freedom of thought,” Mr Erdogan said in televised remarks, adding that he condemned the incident “in the strongest possible terms”.

Turkey had on Wednesday denounced the incident, which was the second time a Quran has been burnt in public in Sweden this year.

“To condone such atrocious acts is to be complicit,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

The burning of a Quran outside Turkey's Stockholm embassy in January led to condemnation, protests and put the brakes on Sweden's Nato membership application.

Jordan on Thursday summoned the Swedish ambassador in Amman over the incident and informed her of Amman's strong protest, the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said.

Authorities in Turkey and Morocco also condemned the stunt.

Jasem Al Budaiwi, secretary general of the GCC, on Thursday called on Swedish authorities to take immediate action against those stoking hate and extremism.

‘’Such irresponsible acts, which provoke and inflame the feelings of Muslims in the whole world and in these blessed days, should be prevented and addressed by all legal and ethical means and with the co-operation of all, to renounce extremism and religious fanaticism,” he was cited by the Saudi Press Agency as saying.

The Makkah-based Muslim World League also criticised the scenes in Sweden, coming, as it did, on one of the most significant dates in the Islamic calendar.

Mohammed Al Issa, secretary general of the MWL, warned of the dangers of acts that promote hatred, provoke religious sentiments and serve only the agendas of extremism.