Muscat: Oman voiced its appeal during its participation in the 18th virtual extraordinary session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which discussed the recurring incidents of desecration and burning of copies of the Holy Quran in Sweden and Denmark.
The delegation of the Sultanate of Oman was headed by H.E. Sheikh Khalifa bin Ali Al Harthy, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs.
A press note issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that His Excellency, in a speech, affirmed the Sultanate of Oman’s condemnation and strong denunciation of the repeated incidents of burning copies of the Holy Quran, which it considers a flagrant attack on the book of God Almighty and a violation of Islamic sanctities, as these repeated provocative acts represent an insult to the feelings and sanctities of Muslims.
He added that the Sultanate of Oman renews its appeal to the international community to criminalize acts of incitement to hatred and abuse of religions and beliefs, and stresses the importance of promoting the culture and values of peaceful coexistence and tolerance among all members of societies of different religions and cultures, and promoting international understanding and cooperation in order to build a world of peace and mutual respect.
The Ministerial Council meeting affirmed its condemnation of all attempts to offend the sanctity of the Holy Quran and other sacred values and symbols of Islam and other religions under the pretext of freedom of expression, which contradicts Articles 19 and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and calls on the international community to unanimously confront these provocative attempts.
The meeting called on all OIC missions to take the initiative in order to confront acts of hatred against Islam, its symbols and sanctities in interpreting the relevant conventions, to develop new international legal texts for this purpose, and to consider taking further measures in response to the recurrence of such provocative acts, which represent a manifestation of spreading religious hatred and intolerance.
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