“The Swedish government fully understands that the Islamophobic acts committed by individuals at demonstrations in Sweden can be offensive to Muslims,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday, according to Al Jazeera.
“We strongly condemn these acts, which in no way reflect the views of the Swedish government,” it said.
The statement also noted that the burning of the Qur’an, or any other holy text, is an offensive and disrespectful act and a clear provocation.
“Expressions of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance have no place in Sweden or in Europe,” it added.
It came after Muslims around the world took to the streets to condemn the Islamophobic act and demand collective measures to prevent similar acts in the future.
On Wednesday, Salwan Momika, an Iraqi citizen living in Sweden, stomped on the holy book and set several pages on fire.
In response, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held an extraordinary meeting and urged member states to “take unified and collective measures to prevent the recurrence of incidents of desecration of copies of the Qu’ran.”
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