Pakistan strongly condemns Islamophobic acts in Denmark

Pakistan on Thursday strongly condemned the desecration of the Holy Quran and dishonouring of the Pakistani flag in Copenhagen, and said it had lodged a strong protest with the Danish government to stop such acts of hatred and incitement. “We expect the Danish authorities to take all measures necessary to stop such acts of hatred and incitement,” the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement. The intent of such evil acts is to insult two billion Muslims around the world and create friction amongst communities, cultures, and countries. These acts, by any definition, do not constitute freedom of expression. Nor can the permission to carry out provocative acts of religious hatred be justified under the pretext of freedom of expression, opinion and protest. As the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has said, “speech and inflammatory acts against Muslims are offensive, irresponsible and wrong” the statement added. “Pakistan has always maintained that freedom of expression comes with responsibilities. It is the responsibility of national governments, regional organisations and the international community at large to call out, condemn and proactively prevent the vile acts of Islamophobia and religious hatred. As urged by the UN Human Rights Council, the relevant countries must address, prevent and prosecute such acts of religious hatred. The international community must raise its collective voice against Islamophobia and work together to promote inter-faith harmony and peaceful co-existence,” it further added. Pakistan, for its part, would continue to raise the question of Islamophobia at the international level. This issue was a key point of telephone conversations of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with his counterparts from Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye and with the Secretary General of OIC and the UN Secretary-General. Issues pertaining to these recurrent acts of Islamophobia were being discussed at the OIC Headquarters in Jeddah and the Human Rights Council in Geneva, the statement concluded. Earlier this week, a small group of anti-Islam activists set fire to copies of the Holy Quran in front of the Egyptian and Turkish embassies in Copenhagen after similar protests in Denmark and Sweden over recent weeks that have enraged Muslims. Denmark and Sweden have said they deplore the burning of Islam’s holy book but cannot prevent it under rules protecting free speech. Last week, protesters in Iraq set the Swedish embassy in Baghdad ablaze. This Tuesday’s demonstration in Copenhagen by a group called “Danish Patriots” followed Holy Quran burnings the group staged on Monday and last week in front of the Iraqi embassy. Two such incidents have taken place in Sweden over the past month. Turkey’s foreign ministry on Tuesday strongly condemned the “continuing attacks” on the Holy Quran, adding that Danish authorities allowing these actions mean they do not see the “severity” of the results they can have. Turkey on Monday called on Denmark to take necessary measures to prevent this “hate crime” against Islam. Bahrain summoned Sweden’s chargé d’affaires and handed her a formal protest letter against allowing the burning of the Koran in Stockholm, the state news agency said on Tuesday citing the foreign ministry. Iraq’s foreign ministry on Monday called on authorities of EU countries to 220;quickly reconsider so-called freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate” in light of the Koran burnings. The Egyptian foreign ministry on Tuesday summoned Sweden’s charge d’affaires to condemn the desecration of the Korans. Denmark has condemned the burnings as “provocative and shameful acts” but says it does not have the power to block non-violent demonstrators. Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Tuesday he had “had a constructive phone call” with Iraqi foreign minister Fuad Hussein on their countries’ relations and the Koran burnings. “Repeated DK’s condemnation of these shameful acts carried out by few individuals. Emphasized that all protests must remain peaceful,” he wrote on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter. “People benefit from an extended freedom of speech when they demonstrate,” University of Copenhagen law Professor Trine Baumbach said of Danish laws. “It does not just include verbal expression. People can express themselves in various ways, such as through the burning of items.”