This emergency ministerial meeting comes in implementation of the content of the final declaration of the extraordinary open-ended meeting of the OIC Executive Committee, held on July 2 at the headquarters of the organization’s General Secretariat in Jeddah, regarding the burning of a copy of the Holy Quran in Sweden, which called for holding a high-level emergency meeting if necessary.
It also comes in light of OIC Secretary General Hussain Ibrahim Taha’s consultations with member states to consider further measures in response to the recurrence of such provocative acts, which are a deliberate manifestation of hatred and intolerance.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Taha reiterated his call on the Swedish and Danish authorities to take official action to prevent a recurrence of the desecration and burning of copies of the Holy Quran, and expressed his disappointment that no action had been taken in this regard.
He also recommended that the member states of the Organization take the sovereign measures they deem appropriate in their relations with Sweden and Denmark to express their rejection of the two countries’ stance on the repeated attack on the sanctity of the Holy Quran and to prevent the repetition of such actions, which could have dangerous repercussions, at a time when considerable efforts are being made to spread the values of tolerance, moderation, mutual respect and understanding, to which the Organization and its member states have always contributed.
Taha said that, in accordance with the mandate given to him by the Organization’s Executive Committee, he had conveyed the concerns of Member States to the Governments of Sweden and Denmark, to the United Nations Secretary-General and to the President of the Security Council, informing them that the nature of these provocations had reached an alarming level and expressing the disappointment of the Organization’s countries at the continued issuance of permits by the competent authorities for such acts.
The Secretary General also called on the Swedish authorities to consider the gravity of the issue for the Islamic world and its impact on their relations with OIC countries, noting that the Swedish government had been informed of the suspension of its status as Special Envoy to the OIC.
