Saudi Arabia, Kuwait demand European action on Quran burning

ISTANBUL

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on Saturday called for European action against the repeated burning of the Quran, Islam’s holy book.

On Friday, Swedish-Danish politician Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the far-right Stram Kurs (Hard Line) Party, burned a copy of the Quran in front of a mosque in Denmark.

The Islamophobic act came days after the far-right leader burned the Islamic book outside the Turkish Embassy in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, during a police-approved protest.

In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry condemned the Quran burning as “a new provocation of the feelings of millions of Muslims worldwide."

“These acts have been repeated in a number of European capitals recently, under the pretext of freedom of expression, without a clear reaction towards stopping these practices,” the ministry said.

The ministry called on "all European governments where these extremist violations took place to urgently confront all these practices."

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah also denounced the Quran burning.

In a statement, he called for “taking immediate and serious action to stop these absurd and reprehensible acts, and repeated abuses of Muslim symbols and sanctities, and to hold the perpetrators accountable."

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar