The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the Chargé d'affaires of the Swedish Embassy in Dhaka after a Quran was burnt during a protest in Sweden.

The ministry strongly condemned the despicable act of burning a copy of the Holy Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm, according to a ministry press release. 

Bangladesh expressed grave concern over such heinous acts of insulting the sacred values and religious symbols of the Muslims in the name of "freedom of expression".

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh yet again urged all concerned to put an end to such unwarranted provocations for the sake of harmony and peaceful coexistence.  

Meanwhile, Middle Eastern nations including Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt strongly criticised the burning.

Morocco and Jordan recalled their ambassadors to Stockholm, and Morocco has also summoned Sweden's charge d'affaires in Rabat.

Turkey - which was also angered by a Quran burning protest earlier this year - said it was "unacceptable" to allow such "anti-Islamic actions" to take place "under the pretext of freedom of expression".

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "We will eventually teach the arrogant Westerners that insulting Muslims is not freedom of thought."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that although the desecration of the Holy Quran was not seen as a crime in some countries, it was penalised in Russia.

Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the Quran burning was "legal but not appropriate".

BDST: 1625 HRS, JULY 02, 2023
MN/SMS