OIC Suspends Sweden's Special Envoy over Quran Desecration

JEDDAH (IQNA) - The Organization of Islamic Cooperation in a statement on Sunday suspended the status of Sweden's special envoy over a string of Holy Quran burnings in Stockholm that sparked anger and mass protests in Muslim countries.

The organization comprised of 57 Muslim-majority nations said that the suspension was due to the “granting by the Swedish authorities of licenses that enabled the repeated abuse of the sanctity of the Holy Quran and Islamic symbols.”

The decision came after the bloc's executive committee held a July 2 meeting following an earlier Holy Quran-burning incident.

The committee asked the secretary-general to consider suspending the status of the special envoy from “any country in which copies of the Holy Quran or other Islamic values and symbols are desecrated with the consent of the authorities concerned,” according to Sunday's statement.

The organization said it had sent a letter to Sweden's foreign minister conveying the decision.

A Sweden-based Iraqi refugee desecrated the Muslim holy book, for the second time in less than a month, after he was given a go-ahead from Swedish authorities. The desecration as well as Sweden's indifference to the beliefs and feelings of Muslims have been widely condemned by Muslim and non-Muslim states. 

Source: AP