Ministry of Foreign Affairs
UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Swedish Ambassador Liselott Andersson and informed her of the UAE’s protest and strong condemnation of the burning of copies of the Holy Quran by extremists in Sweden. Image Credit: WAM

Abuu Dhabi: The UAE on Thursday summoned the Swedish ambassador to protest the burning of copies of the Holy Quran by extremists in the Swedish capital Stockholm.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Swedish Ambassador Liselott Andersson and informed her of the UAE’s protest and strong condemnation of the burning of copies of the Holy Quran by extremists in Sweden, as well as the non-respect of social values and evasion of international responsibility.

The ministry stressed the importance of monitoring hate and racist speech that negatively affects efforts to achieve peace and security.

The ministry voiced the UAE’s rejection of the use of the freedom of speech as a pretext to justify such heinous acts.

Meanwhile, Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President, condemned the blatant and repeated attacks on the Islamic faith under the pretext of freedom of opinion.

Dr. Gargash reacted to the burning of copies of the Holy Quran by extremists in Sweden on the first day of Eid Al Adha.

“The blatant and repeated attacks on our Islamic faith under the pretext of freedom of opinion only perpetuates hate and rivalry, as violation of the sacred deepens the ideological confrontation. The Western world must realise that its value system and justification cannot be imposed on the entire world,” Dr Gargash wrote on his Twitter account.

Emphasising the need for collective action to address extremism, Dr. Gargash added: “There is no other choice except collective action to address extremism.”