Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The Prime Minister of Sweden said that burning the Holy Books for many is a shameful act and expressed his sympathy for Muslims who felt offended by the burning of the Holy Qur’an on Saturday in Stockholm at the hands of an extremist
And a European spokesman quoted in his tweet on Twitter today, Sunday, what the Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Christson, wrote on his official page, Saturday: “Freedom of expression is an essential part of democracy, but what is legal is not necessarily an appropriate thing. Burning the holy books of many is an outrageous act.” Very much. I would like to express my sympathy to all Muslims who have been offended by what happened in Stockholm today.”
Sweden's foreign minister, Tobias Billström, called the anti-Islam provocations "appalling" after a right-wing politician burned a copy of the Quran during a police-sanctioned protest outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm on Saturday.
"The anti-Islamic provocations are appalling...Sweden has far-reaching freedom of expression, but it does not mean that the Swedish government, or I, endorse the views that are expressed," Billstrom said in a tweet on his official Twitter page, Saturday.
This came after the Arab Parliament strongly condemned the burning of a copy of the Holy Qur’an by an extremist in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, stressing its total rejection of such barbaric and disgraceful acts, which are considered a violation of all international laws and covenants that stipulate the necessity of respecting people’s sanctities, beliefs and religions.
In a press statement today, Sunday, the Arab Parliament called on the international community to assume its responsibilities and to criminalize these unacceptable acts altogether, which contradict all human and moral values and principles, provoke Muslims, fuel feelings of hatred and violence, and aim to destabilize security and stability, and demanded the renunciation of all forms of hatred and extremism. Spreading the values of dialogue, tolerance and peaceful coexistence among peoples, and preventing any form of insult to all monotheistic religions.

The Arab Parliament warned of the serious repercussions of these practices, which are a serious violation of human rights, stressing the need to renounce hate speech and violence, and the necessity of respecting religious symbols, and refraining from provoking hatred by insulting religions and sanctities, and the need to spread the values of tolerance and coexistence.

The Arab Parliament called for the enactment of international laws and legislation that criminalizes insulting religious sanctities and provides the necessary protection for Muslims to practice their religious rites on an equal basis with all other religions.