OIC seeks collective measures to prevent desecration of Holy Quran, insult against Prophet

Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha on Sunday called on Member States to take unified and collective measures to prevent the recurrence of incidents of desecration of copies of the Holy Qur’an and insults against honored Prophet Muhammad.

He made the call came at the extraordinary, open-ended meeting of the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, held at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Jeddah, to discuss measures on the repercussions of the incident of burning a copy of the Holy Qur’an that took place in front of the Central Mosque in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, on the first day of Eid al-Adha.

The Executive Committee meeting was held at the invitation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, current Chair of the Islamic Summit and the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, according to the OIC headquarters.

"We must send constant reminders to the international community regarding the urgent application of international law, which clearly prohibits any advocacy of religious hatred," he said.

The Secretary-General said “unfortunately, on the first day of that auspicious occasion, when all Muslims around the world were celebrating the Eid, a despicable act of desecration of a copy of Holy Qur’an was committed outside the central mosque in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden”.

He pointed out that the meeting was held to discuss the appropriate response.

Taha also stressed the need to send a clear message that acts of desecration of copies of the Holy Qur’an and insults against our honoured Prophet Muhammad were not mere ordinary Islamophobia incidents.