Pakistan, Iran resolved to cooperate with OIC against Islamophobia: Islamabad
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has expressed his outrage at the desecration of the Holy Qur’an in Sweden, stating that Islamabad and Tehran are determined to cooperate with members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to deal with Islamophobia.
Zardari made the remarks in a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Andollahian on Saturday.
During the conversation, the top Iranian and Pakistani diplomats strongly condemned the heinous desecration of the Holy Qur’an – Islam's holiest scripture – in Sweden.
The Pakistani foreign minister highlighted that such Islamophobic actions will result in the spread of religious hatred, and cannot be justified in any way.
The Iranian foreign minister said, “These actions have caused deep emotional wounds to nearly two billion Muslims worldwide.”
Referring to his recent conversation with the secretary-general of the OIC, Amir-Abdollahian underlined the necessity of sending a strong message from Islamic nations on this matter.
The two sides also discussed issues of mutual interest as well as bilateral cooperation between Iran and Pakistan.
Earlier in the day, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei denounced the desecration of the Holy Qur’an in Sweden as a bitter and perilous plot, urging the Swedish government to hand the perpetrator over to the Muslim countries’ judicial systems for the harshest punishment.
“Effrontery to the sacred realm of the Holy Quran in Sweden is a bitter, conspiratorial and dangerous incident. The severest punishment for the perpetrator of this crime is the consensus view of all Islamic scholars,” the Leader said in a message on Saturday.
“The Swedish government should also know that by supporting a criminal, it has taken a war stance against the Islamic world and attracted the hatred and enmity of the Muslim nations and many of their governments,” Ayatollah Khamenei added.
“The conspirators behind the scenes should also know that the sanctity and grandeur of the Holy Quran will increase day by day and the lights of its guidance will become brighter," the Leader said, adding, “The likes of this conspiracy and its perpetrators are too lowly to be able to prevent this ever-increasing brilliance.”
On Thursday, Sweden-based Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika desecrated the Muslim holy book on Thursday during a demonstration outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm amid strict protection provided by the Swedish police.
The appalling act opened the floodgates of protest across the Muslim community worldwide.
Iraq, in response, expelled the Swedish ambassador. An Iraqi government statement said Baghdad had also recalled its charge d'affaires in Sweden, and Iraq's state news agency reported that Iraq had suspended the working permit of Sweden's networking and telecommunications company Ericsson on Iraqi soil.
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