On Tuesday, Muslim leaders addressing the United Nations (UN) criticized the West over Quran burnings, condemning the acts protected as free speech as biased.
Sweden has noticed a string of burnings of the Islamic holy book, the Quran, with the government expressing denunciation but saying it cannot prevent acts protected under laws on free expression.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, said that Western nations were witnessing “a plague” of racism including Islamophobia.
Erdogan told the UN General Assembly, “It has reached intolerable levels. Unfortunately, populist politicians in many nations continue to play with fire by encouraging such dangerous trends.”
“The mentality that promotes the hideous raids against the Holy Quran in Europe, by permitting them under the guise of freedom of expression, is darkening (Europe’s) own future through its own hands.”
Protests in Sweden that have involved Quran burnings have been organized by refugee Salwan Momika, flaring anger in the Middle East including his native Iraq.
Erdogan in July said he would lift a blocking on Sweden’s request to join NATO but the Turkish parliament has not yet ratified the nation’s membership.
Ebrahim Raisi, the President of Iran, and a cleric leading the Shia theocratic state, held up a Quran at the UN rostrum.
Raisi told the UN General Assembly, “The blazes of disrespect will not overpower the divine truth,” blaming the West for seeking to “divert attention with the tool of freedom of speech.”
“Islamophobia and cultural apartheid noticed in Western nations — apparent in actions ranging from the desecration of the holy Quran to the ban on the hijab in schools — and considerable other unfortunate discriminations are not deserving of human dignity.”
He was indicating to France, which has controversially banned Muslim girls from wearing hijabs in schools.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar in his speech said that “compromising the sanctity of others intentionally” should not be seen as freedom of expression.
“I would say to my Muslim brothers that it is implausible for us to get distracted by an idiot or a biased person whenever it occurs to him to prompt us by burning the holy Quran or by other states of triviality. The Quran is too holy to be desecrated by a witless person.”
