Jeddah, Jan. 31 (BNA): The Organization of Islamic Cooperation held an extraordinary, open-ended meeting of the Executive Committee of the Organization of the Islamic Conference at its headquarters in Jeddah today to express the organization’s common position against the recent desecration of the Holy Quran. In Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark as well as to discuss possible actions that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation could take against perpetrators of despicable anti-Islam attacks.
During the meeting, the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Hussein Ibrahim Taha, reiterated his dissatisfaction with the provocative actions carried out by far-right activists, stressing that such actions are criminal acts committed with the primary intent to target Muslims. Insulting their sacred religion, values and symbols. He said the concerned governments should take firm countermeasures, especially since such provocations have been perpetrated time and time again by right-wing extremists in their own countries.
The Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference stated that the deliberate act of desecrating the Holy Quran and insulting the Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace) should not be seen as a mere ordinary incident of Islamophobia. He said such an act was a direct insult to the entire Muslim population of 1.6 billion. Hence, Mr. Ibrahim Taha called on all stakeholders to take firm action so that a similar provocation would not be repeated in the future.
For his part, the permanent Saudi representative to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Dr. Saleh Al-Suhaibani, indicated that the meeting comes to express unified positions against the recent desecration and burning of the Noble Qur’an, which constitutes a provocation of the Holy Quran. The feelings of millions of Muslims feed sedition and serve the advocates of extremism. He stressed that these actions can only be considered an insult and contempt for all Muslims, pointing out that these despicable acts blatantly contradict the human, moral and religious principles and values of all peoples who love peace and coexistence.
“The repetition of these heinous acts in more than one place raises many questions about the negligence and failure of some governments to curb the phenomenon of Islamophobia and take the necessary measures to stop provocation and punish the perpetrators under the pretext of freedom of expression, but we all know that these freedoms are restricted in some matters,” Al-Suhaibani added.
He emphasized that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expressed its absolute condemnation and rejection of these provocative acts against the feelings of millions of Muslims around the world. The Kingdom renews its firm stances calling for spreading the tolerant values of Islam, which are based on dialogue and coexistence, and rejecting all causes of extremism and hatred.
He called for serious qualitative work through the Organization of the Islamic Conference and its institutions to highlight the pivotal role that Islam played in the development and prosperity of many peoples and civilizations throughout history, and work to spread the message of Islam in the world by organizing and holding cultural exhibitions. influencing events.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in its capacity as chair of the Islamic Summit and the Executive Committee, hopes that this meeting will come out with joint action and take a unified Islamic position within the framework of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to stop these despicable acts and activate the role of the Islamophobia Observatory of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and push the organization’s offices abroad to work in this trend.”
Permanent Representative of the Republic of Turkey to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Ambassador Mehmet Metin Eker said that Turkey strongly condemns the recent heinous attacks on the Holy Quran in Stockholm (January 21), The Hague (January 22) and Copenhagen (January 27).
“Unfortunately, the Swedish authorities’ failure to take precautions against the attack on the Holy Quran on January 21 encouraged similar attacks in the Netherlands and Denmark afterwards,” he added.
The Permanent Representative of Turkey warned that “hatred against Islam has reached an alarming level in many parts of the world, particularly in Europe. We note with great concern how far-right politicians use Islamophobic and xenophobic rhetoric in their narrow agenda. Resorting to this populism paves the way for attacks Racism against Muslims.” He stressed that attempts to offend the sanctity of the Holy Qur’an, and other sacred Islamic values and symbols, including the Holy Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, under the guise of freedom of expression, contradict a certain spirit. International legal documents on human rights, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
“The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights clearly states in Article 19 that the right to freedom of expression ‘carries with it special duties and responsibilities’ towards others. Article 19 also includes the obligation not to engage in acts of hate and not to incite people to violence,” Ambassador Mohamed added. He affirmed that the Organization of the Islamic Conference and its member states bear the moral and political responsibility to work collectively and show a common stance against the recent desecration of our holy book, the Holy Quran. The ambassadors of OIC member states in capitals where heinous acts against the Holy Quran and other sacred Islamic symbols take place called for collective efforts with regard to national parliaments, media and civil society organizations as well. as government institutions.
In addition, we call on the missions of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in New York, Geneva and Brussels to take the initiative to deal in the concerned international organizations, with which they are accredited, these acts that reflect hatred of Islam and its sacred symbols.
The Permanent Representative of Turkey also called for strengthening the Islamophobia Observatory for effective participation with international partners and better follow-up.
AOQ