Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha has reiterated his call to the Swedish and Danish authorities to take official actions to prevent the recurrence of desecration and burning of copies of the Holy Quran.
The OIC Secretary General’s remarks came during his speech at the opening of the 18th extraordinary session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC, which was held virtually on Monday.
He expressed his disappointment at the lack of action taken in this regard so far, urging the authorities to recognize the seriousness of the issue for the Islamic world and its potential implications on the relations with the OIC member states.
The Secretary-General also conveyed the concerns of the OIC member states to the governments of Sweden and Denmark, as well as to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the President of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), regarding the continued issuance of licenses by the Swedish and Danish authorities permitting such acts that have reached a troubling level
Moreover, he recommended that the OIC member states take sovereign measures that express their rejection of the position taken by the authorities in both countries regarding the repeated insults and the prevention of any future occurrences of such acts.
The Secretary-General added that this comes at a crucial time when substantial efforts are being made to promote values of tolerance, moderation, mutual respect, and understanding, values that the OIC and its member states have consistently fostered.
He also indicated that he had informed the Swedish government of his decision to suspend the status of Sweden’s Special Envoy to the OIC.
Additionally, he affirmed that the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) recently addressed these developments upon the request of the OIC member states and adopted Resolution 1/53 on “Countering Religious Hatred Constituting Incitement to Discrimination, Hostility, or Violence”.
The Secretary-General concluded his speech by expressing utmost appreciation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the current Chair of the Islamic Summit and the Executive Committee, and to the Republic of Iraq for convening this extraordinary session of the Council of Foreign Ministers.
Source: Saudi Press Agency