Syrian Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun has strongly condemned the burning of the Holy Quran on the morning of Eid al-Adha, the biggest religious holiday for Muslims, in the Swedish capital Stockholm.
It is noteworthy that the Swedish authorities have given permission to burn a copy of the Quran in front of Stockholm's Grand Mosque on Wednesday, June 28, the first day of Eid al-Adha. This came two weeks after a Swedish appeals court refused to ban protests organized to burn the Quran.
"The Quran is the collection of all holy scriptures, so burning a copy of it is a crime against all religious books, including the Torah and the Bible," the mufti said in a statement to Sputnik. "Sweden knows that we, as one Ummah, will not be broken, because the Quran is saved in our hearts, not in the lines."
The Sheikh argued that the Holy Quran "was not sent to the Prophet [Muhammad] as a printed text on paper" and that it was "contained in him, in his heart, and has been handed down from generation to generation until today."
"We [Muslims] advocate the enactment of laws that prohibit egregious violations of people's beliefs, nationality and identity," Hassoun said. "In particular, this is the second time Sweden has allowed an action [with the burning of the Quran], which is simply unacceptable."
He added that Sweden, and European countries in general, make such laws in order to "humiliate people and insult their feelings."
Addressing the Swedish government and people directly, the Syrian Mufti called for respect and urged them to embody the principles of democracy and defend freedom and morality.
However, he lamented that the Quran burning incident had placed Sweden in the ranks of extremists, surpassing even the atrocities committed by militants affiliated with Daesh*, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (IS).
"In light of what happened in Stockholm, we can safely say that they are now the real extremists, they are even worse than IS militants," he said. "These crimes will not go unanswered by the Arab-Muslim world. Sweden burns holy books, while we spread the message of friendship and love and call for tolerance."
Earlier in the day, Syria condemned what it called a "disgraceful act" of trampling on the Holy Quran on the morning of Eid al-Adha, carried out by an extremist with the permission and consent of the Swedish government, the Syrian news agency SANA reported.
On Wednesday, Morocco summoned the charge d'affaires of the Swedish embassy in Rabat, by order of King Mohammed VI, in response to the Swedish government's authorization to organize the Quran burning in front of the mosque in Stockholm.
The Moroccan ambassador to Sweden has also been summoned to the Kingdom for consultations for an indefinite period of time, according to Maghreb Arabe Press (MAP).
* Daesh is a terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other countries across the world