Foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has expressed the entire nation’s deep anguish and distress over desecration of the Quran in Sweden through a tweet in a meaningful manner. He has pointed out that the “desecration of the Holy Quran is another example of the rising Islamophobic mindset that seeks to dehumanise and denigrate our faith.
It is an act of blatant provocation to try inflame sentiments and undermine Islam as a religion of peace, tolerance, and acceptance. Pakistan will be raising this issue at the UNHRC urgent debate in Geneva on behalf of the OIC Group on 11 July on the premeditated acts of desecration of Holy Quran”.
Similar sentiments have been expressed by, among others, prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan.
Protest rallies taken out yesterday across Pakistan to condemn the desecration of Holy Quran have fully explained how this blasphemous act that took place in Sweden has caused extreme pain and distress among Muslims. The Pakistan Church too has come out strongly against the desecration of Holy Quran.
The West must not lose sight of the fact that what happened at Sweden was not a matter of an individual or group’s liberty that stems from the ideal of freedom expression; it was an outright provocation aimed at hurting Muslim community’s sentiments and sensibilities across the globe.
The global community must take some concrete steps aimed at preventing the recurrence of such abominable acts in future. This will require certain Western countries, including Sweden, to revisit their constitutions and penal laws in order to forestall the repeat of blasphemous acts. The United Nations must convene an emergency session on this matter.
Hamid Shafqat (Karachi)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023