UNITED NATIONS, Aug 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Head of the UN Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Moratinos on Saturday condemned the burning of the Quran by far-right extremists in the Swedish city of Malmo.
Moratinos described the incident on Friday, which triggered riots in Malmo, as “despicable and totally unacceptable nor justifiable,” said his spokesperson, Nihal Saad, in a statement.
“Moratinos notes that such deplorable acts perpetrated by hate-mongers, including by far-right extremists and other radical groups, incite violence and tear apart the fabric of our communities. These acts are an affront to the objectives and values embraced by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations which works on the promotion of mutual respect and understanding and strengthening intercultural and interreligious dialogue,” said the statement.
Moratinos reiterated that the desecration of sacred books and places of worship as well as religious symbols should be vehemently repudiated by all faith actors. He called on religious leaders across the faith spectrum to renew their denunciation of all forms of violence based on religion or belief, it said.
Far-right activists burned a Koran in the southern Swedish city of Malmo, leading to riots as more than 300 people gathered to protest, according to police.
Rioters started fires and threw objects at police and rescue services on Friday night, slightly injuring several officers.
About 15 people were detained.
The violence followed far-right activists burning a Koran near a predominantly migrant neighbourhood on Friday afternoon.
They filmed the act and posted the footage online, according to the TT news agency.
Later, three people were arrested on suspicion of inciting hatred against an ethnic group after kicking the Muslim holy book. — NNN-AGENCIES
