- Asks Swedish govt to clarify position as to why it allowed such act under protection
- Joint sitting of Parliament calls on int’l community to take serious action to prevent such incidents in future
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said the desecration of Holy Quran was an attempt to create animosity between the Muslims and Christians and any recurrence of such condemnable act, would in no way be tolerated.
The prime minister, in his address to the joint sitting of the parliament, urged the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to convene an urgent session to invite the Muslim world leaders, adopt a condemnatory resolution and also warn the Swedish government and such individuals against the recurrence of such condemnable acts.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed the joint session of the Parliament in Islamabad to condemn the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden. pic.twitter.com/lqL9B8mYFq
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) July 6, 2023
The incident took place last week when a man, who fled from Iraq to Sweden several years ago, tore up and burned a copy of the Holy Quran outside Stockholm’s central mosque on the first day of Eidul Azha there.
The act has drawn strong criticism from several countries, including Pakistan, Turkiye, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iraq and Iran, as well as the European Union.
The premier urged the National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to form a committee with a mandate to formulate recommendations for their onward dissemination to the world including international organisations so that such acts could be averted.
He said as per their belief, Muslims revered all religions and revealed books including the Bible as Holy Quran ordained patience and harmony.
He said despite that, such deliberate Islamophobia acts were being carried out to pit Muslims against Christians.
He said that despite their belated condemnation, the Swedish government would have to clarify its position as to why they allowed such an act under the protection of their police on the day when the Muslims were celebrating Eidul Azha.
The prime minister urged the parliamentarians to condemn the act of Swedish police and make it clear that the Muslims could even sacrifice their lives to protect the sanctity of the Holy Quran.
He said the peaceful protests should not be construed as weakness and that no one should complain about the consequences if such condemnable actions were repeated.
He said as the country would observe the Sanctity of Holy Quran Day on Friday, the whole nation should stage rallies across the country to condemn the desecration of Holy Quran and convey their sentiments to the world.
Calling for using all political and legal options to avert recurrence of such acts, the prime minister also
thanked the OIC for convening a special meeting in which they also adopted a condemnatory resolution and put forward suggestions.
He said Pakistan was not against the freedom of speech but no one had the right to desecrate any one’s belief or fan hatred in this garb.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged the House to put forward suggestions which would be raised at the UN platform to realise the world that the billions of Muslims would not allow any repetition of such hateful acts.
“This is beyond tolerance. This is not the first time as earlier too, same thing happened in Sweden. This must be condemned in the strongest possible words,” he said
The prime minister recalled and appreciated the former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for her support to the Muslims, after an Islamophobic attack against Muslims, which was a positive attempt to establish peace between Muslims and Christians.
He told the House that he was trying to contact with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to request him for convening an urgent session to invite the Muslim leaders and adopt a condemnatory resolution. “I will also ask him to warn such governments and individuals against redoing such acts aimed at fanning hatred,” he added.
The prime minister thanked Pope Francis for condemning the act, saying his dissociation of such Islamophobic action gave a positive image.
The prime minister said he would convey the parliamentary resolution to the Swedish government as the Foreign Office was also making its due efforts on the diplomatic fronts.
Joint sitting of Parliament condemns desecration of Holy Quran
The joint sitting of the Parliament on Thursday strongly condemned the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden and called upon the international community to take serious action to prevent such incidents in the future.
They were speaking on a motion moved by Federal Minister for Human Rights Riaz Hussain Pirzada on the situation arising out of the desecration of Holy Quran in Sweden in the joint sitting of the Parliament, which was chaired by Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf.
National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf recommended the Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif to draft a resolution in consultation with the leaders of all parties so, it can be approved by the House before the conclusion of today's Joint Session.#JointSession pic.twitter.com/mMvSULfZV6
— National Assembly 🇵🇰 (@NAofPakistan) July 6, 2023
Parliamentarians from the government and the opposition sides expressed deep distress over the incident, stating that Muslims worldwide have been profoundly hurt by this disgraceful act.
They emphasized that no civilized society should permit the provocation and disrespect of religious sentiments under the guise of freedom of expression. They urged the international community to address this tragic incident and take effective measures to prevent similar occurrences.
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Raja Riaz Ahmad strongly condemned the incident and said that the entire nation was united on this matter. He said that every forum should be used to raise the voice against this wrong act.
He said that although it was an individual act, but the government of the concerned country should take strict action against that person. He said that every Pakistani would participate in peaceful protests on Friday against the incident.
He praised the decision to convene an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in response to the incident.
Opposition Leader in Senate, Senator Dr Shahzad Waseem said that such act will increase the feeling of abhorrence among various communities of the world and urged to control such incidents. He added that the Muslims living in different parts of the world strongly condemned the incident.
سینٹر ڈاکٹر شہزاد وسیم کا مجلس شوری کے اجلاس سے خطاب۔
آج اجلاس میں جو موضوع زیر بحث ہے وہ ہر قسم کی تفریق سے بالاتر ہے،
ہم سب کی ایک شناخت جو سب سے بالاتر ہے وہ ہمارا دین اسلام ہے جو بھائی چارے اور رواداری کا درس دیتا ہے،
عید الاضحٰی کے دن جب پوری دنیا کے مسلمان اپنا مذہبی… pic.twitter.com/QKsCFTu5IQ
— National Assembly 🇵🇰 (@NAofPakistan) July 6, 2023
He said that similar incidents already occurred in some countries and demanded to stop happening of such incidents. He said that playing with the sentiments of Muslims on the name of freedom of expression is absolutely deplorable.
Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani said that holding of joint sitting of the Parliament was a good step to give a message to the world that the entire nation was united on this incident. He said that Muslims respect other religions in accordance with Islamic teachings and expect reciprocity from followers of other faiths for global peace. He stressed that promoting interfaith harmony among nations was essential for ensuring international peace.
Senator Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani during the #JointSession, strongly condemned the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden. He also appreciated the joint sitting of both Houses at this moment of disgrace against Islam which is reflecting a sign of collective message to the world.… pic.twitter.com/KhUUZ87uoG
— National Assembly 🇵🇰 (@NAofPakistan) July 6, 2023
He called upon the international community to take notice and strict action against those responsible. He said that our protests should be held peacefully following the teachings of Islam.
Federal Minister for Communications Maulana Asad Mehmood strongly condemned the anti-Islam act considering it highly unjustifiable. He called for the perpetrator of this heinous crime to be brought to justice. He said that freedom of expression should not be used as a means to hurt religious sentiments.
