Moscow, IRNA – The ambassadors and diplomats of 12 Islamic and non-Islamic countries, in a meeting hosted by the Iranian embassy in Moscow, denounced the desecration of the Holy Quran in some Western countries.

According to IRNA’s correspondent, verses of the Quran were read out at the beginning of the meeting, which gathered the ambassadors from Iran, Syria, Iraq, and Burundi, as well as the deputies and senior diplomats of the embassies of Pakistan, Turkey, Lebanon, Palestine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, India, and Mexico.

Addressing the meeting, Iran’s ambassador to Moscow said the recurrent desecration of the Muslim holy book in Sweden and Denmark under the pretext of freedom of speech is a “disgraceful display of the double standards of the West in respecting human rights standards and is an act aimed at spreading hatred and violence against the divine religion of Islam.”

“Such actions, in addition to exposing the abuse of the noble concept of freedom of speech, are in violation of human rights documents, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Kazem Jalali said.

He added that the Quran burnings clearly contradict the notion of peaceful coexistence of nations and are carried out in line with the Islamophobic policy of the West.

Last week, far-right Islamophobes burned copies of the Quran in front of the Egyptian and Turkish embassies in Copenhagen, marking yet another anti-Islam act in Denmark.

It came after similar acts in neighboring Sweden, which have caused an international outcry and prompted the governments of Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE and Lebanon to either slam the burnings or suspend certain ties with Stockholm.

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