Pakistan condemns granting permission for burning Bible, Torah in Sweden

• Pakistan condemned granting permission for burning Bible and Torah in Sweden
• It said Islam calls for respecting all religions, sacred personalities, and holy scriptures.
• Swedish police have granted a permit for a protest outside the Israeli embassy.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan assailed the Swedish authorities for allowing public desecration of the Torah and Bible in Stockholm, days after the burning of the Holy Quran.

“Offensive acts of religious hatred cannot be condoned in the guise of freedom of expression and opinion,” the Foreign Office said in a statement while strongly condemning the protest.

Reacting to the scheduled protest, the FO said: “As a religion of peace, Islam calls for respect for all religions, sacred personalities and holy scriptures.”

“In line with this Islamic ethos, Pakistan has always stressed the need to advance mutual respect, harmony and peaceful coexistence among religions, faiths, and cultures,” it added.

The Foreign Office called upon the international community to condemn, with one voice, all such abhorrent acts of religious hatred, which hurt the sentiments of its followers and constitute deliberate incitement.

Swedish police said they had granted a permit for a protest which would include burning holy texts outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, sparking condemnation from Israel and Jewish organisations.

The controversial protest comes weeks after a man set fire to pages of the Holy Quran outside Stockholm’s main mosque, leading to widespread outrage and condemnations around the world.

According to the application to Sweden police, the demonstration would include a burning of the Torah and the Bible, in response to the Holy Quran burning protest and would be an expression in support of freedom of speech.

Stockholm police stressed that in line with Swedish legislation they granted permits for people to hold public gatherings and not for the activities conducted during them.

“The police does not issue permits to burn various religious texts — the police issues permits to hold a public gathering and express an opinion,” Stockholm police told news agencies.

Israeli officials called on the Swedish government to stop the protest. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said that he was urging Swedish officials to “prevent this despicable event and not to allow the burning of a Torah scroll.”

Sweden recently faced strong criticism from Muslim countries for allowing protesters to burn the Quran at small anti-Islam demonstrations.