The Swedish government expressed its condemnation of the burning of a copy of the Holy Quran by an extremist in front of the Stockholm central mosque, describing the incident as an Islamophobic act.

The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement: "The Swedish government fully understands that the Islamophobic acts committed by individuals at demonstrations in Sweden can be offensive to Muslims," adding that the government strongly condemns these actions, which in no way reflect the views of the Swedish government.

The statement stressed that burning copies of the Quran or any other sacred text is an offensive and disrespectful act, constituting a clear provocation. The ministry indicated that expressions of racism, xenophobia, and intolerance have no place in Sweden or in Europe.

The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs' statement stated that the freedom of assembly, expression, and demonstration are constitutionally protected rights in Sweden, stressing that it is under these constitutional rights that the Swedish police permitted the demonstration during which pages of the Quran were burnt. However, the statement added that the Swedish police launched an investigation on charges of incitement against an ethnic group, due to the fact that the burning took place in front of a mosque.

The Swedish government's response came after the Organization of Islamic Cooperation called for an extraordinary meeting earlier on Sunday in order to take unified and collective measures to prevent the recurrence of incidents of desecration of copies of the Holy Quran and insult against the honored Prophet Muhammad, may ALLAH's blessings and peace be upon him, calling on the international community to urgently apply international law, which clearly prohibits any advocacy of religious hatred.

Source: Qatar News Agency