PUTRAJAYA: As a founding member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Malaysia remains committed to promote full respect and protection of religious scriptures and combating the increasingly Islamophobic sentiments.
The national statement was delivered yesterday by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Datuk Mohamad Alamin, who led Malaysia’s delegation to the 18th Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (FM) of the OIC Member States on Repeated Crime of Desecration and Burning of Copies of Al-Mushaf Al-Sharif in Sweden and Denmark.
According to a statement by Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) on Tuesday, the main agenda of the Extraordinary Session, which was held virtually, was to discuss the recent recurrence of incidents of desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden and Denmark.
“Deputy Minister delivered Malaysia’s statement, which stressed the importance of adhering to the universal principle of respect towards all religions and their holy scriptures and for all parties to work hand in hand in addressing the Islamophobia issue to project the true image of Islam and its message of peace, moderation and tolerance,” said the statement.
A total of 32 countries delivered their country’s statement and unanimously condemned the recurrence of incidents of desecration and burning of the Holy Quran in several countries and called for the respective governments to avoid such incidents in the future.
The session also adopted the Resolution on the Repeated Crimes of Desecration and Burning of Copies of Al-Mushaf Al-Sharif in Sweden and Denmark.
Among the main gists of the resolution is to strongly condemn the recurrence of the incidents of desecration and burning of the Holy Quran, reaffirm all OIC Member States prioritise the agenda of combatting Islamophobia, and to ensure this agenda is always highlighted at the international platforms namely the United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Council.
Attended by 57 Member States of the Jeddah-based body, the session was chaired by the Foreign Affairs Minister of Mauritania, Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug – the current chair of OIC FM, added the statement.
On July 24, the OIC criticised Sweden and Denmark’s response to the repeated Quran desecrations on Monday, as the Swedish leader said the two countries are in discussions about a possible ban on such acts.
The OIC on Monday met to address Quran desecrations and voiced “disappointment” with Sweden and Denmark’s response.
OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha called on both countries to prevent Quran desecration and “expressed his disappointment that no measures were taken in this regard so far”, said the OIC. – BERNAMA
