Quran desecration: Fazl calls for countrywide protests tomorrow

KARACHI: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) chairman Maulana Fazlur Rehman called for country-wide protests against the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden tomorrow July 23, ARY News reported.

As per details, the JUI chief said that the country’s biggest protest will be held in Karachi on Sunday, July 23 and he will personally participate in the protests.

He said that the desecration of the Holy Quran is taking place in Sweden constantly and it hurts the sentiments of every Muslim across the world.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that Muslims respect all the holy books of all religions but why the Western world is so narrow-minded?

Read: Holy Quran desecration: Fazl demands to recall ambassador to Sweden

Earlier today, the Maulana Fazlur Rehman demanded Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif to recall Pakistan’s ambassador to Sweden ‘in protest’ against the desecration of the Holy Quran.

It is pertinent to mention here that Iraq – a day earlier – expelled the Swedish ambassador in protest at a planned desecration of Holy Quran in Stockholm that had prompted hundreds of protesters to storm and set alight the Swedish embassy.

Protesters in Sweden had applied for and received permission from Swedish police to desecrate the Quran outside the Iraqi embassy on Thursday.

Earlier, a man desecrated the Holy Quran in Sweden’s capital Stockholm last week, resulting in strong condemnation from several states, including Pakistan, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iraq and Iran.

Sweden’s government also condemned burning of Quran outside Stockholm’s main mosque, calling it an “Islamophobic” act.

“The Swedish Government fully understands that the Islamophobic acts committed by individuals at demonstrations in Sweden can be offensive to Muslims,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

“We strongly condemn these acts, which in no way reflect the views of the Swedish government,” it added.

The condemnation came in response to a call for collective measures to avoid future Quran burnings from the Saudi-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

READ: Muslim world condemns desecration of Quran in Sweden

The 57-member body met at its Jeddah headquarters to respond to Wednesday’s incident in which an Iraqi citizen living in Sweden, Salwan Momika, 37, set several pages of Quran alight.