Swedish government condemns 'Islamophobic' Quran burning
The government of Sweden has condemned the burning of a Quran outside Stockholm's main mosque, terming it an "Islamophobic" act, after an international Islamic body called for measures to avoid future desecration of the Muslim holy book.
"The Swedish Government fully understands that the Islamophobic acts committed by individuals at demonstrations in Sweden can be offensive to Muslims," the Swedish foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday, reports Al Jazeera.
"We strongly condemn these acts, which in no way reflect the views of the Swedish government," the ministry said.
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The condemnation came in response to a call for collective measures from the Saudi-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to avoid further Quran destruction in the future.
The 57-member body met at its headquarters in Jeddah to respond to Wednesday's incident in which an Iraqi citizen living in Sweden, Salwan Momika, 37, stomped on the holy book and set several pages on fire.
