Saudi Arabia summons Denmark’s charge d’affaires over Quran burnings

RELIGIOUS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – Saudi Arabia has summoned Denmark’s charge d’affaires over recent burnings of the Quran in Copenhagen.

Aljazeera reported the Danish diplomat was handed a memo that “includes a demand from the kingdom to stop the disgraceful acts that violate all religious teachings, laws and international norms.

The kingdom’s protest comes after far-right activists carried out a number of public burnings of Islam’s holy book over the past week in front of the Iraqi, Egyptian, and Turkish embassies in the Danish capital.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen condemned a similar demonstration by the group the previous week as a “disgraceful act” intended to “provoke and create division”, but noted that desecrating the Quran is not a crime in Denmark.

Activists have also burned copies of the Quran in neighbouring Sweden in recent weeks.

The public burnings in the Scandinavian countries have sparked widespread anger across the Muslim world, with countries including Qatar, Jordan, Morocco, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Yemen lodging protests in response.

Saudi Arabia last week summoned the Swedish charge d’affaires to condemn the desecration of the Quran in that country.

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) earlier this month approved a resolution on religious hatred and bigotry following the burnings.