Iran blasts Europe double standard on freedom of speech

Referring to the desecration of the Holy Qur'an in Sweden and Denmark, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that if book burning is freedom of speech then the Middle Ages were Europe's golden age of freedom.

The spokesperson's remarks came in reaction to the desecration of the Qur’an by a Christian extremist in Stockholm which has triggered widespread protests and condemnation across the Muslim world.

The demonstrations come after Swedish police on Thursday permitted the man living in Stockholm for the second time to desecrate the Qur’an. 

People in Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Lebanon, and other countries have staged massive rallies to condemn the blasphemous act.

On Thursday, demonstrators in Baghdad broke into the Swedish embassy and set part of it on fire to show their anger at the sacrilegious act.

The Iraqi government also ordered the Swedish ambassador to leave and decided to withdraw its envoy from Stockholm for permitting the desecration of the Holy Qur’an.

Under scorching heat, millions of worshipers took to the streets across Iran after Friday prayers, holding copies of the Holy Qur’an and chanting “Death to Americanized Sweden! Death to Israel!

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Iran will not accept a new Swedish ambassador until Stockholm takes a "serious and effective measure to deal with the continuous violation of Islamic sanctities". 

The minister also called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) in a phone call with the group's secretary general Hissein Ibrahim Taha to discuss the desecration. 

On Thursday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Swedish ambassador to Tehran and conveyed the Islamic Republic's strong condemnation of the sacrilegious act.

News ID 195765

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