Saudi Arabia condemns ‘deliberate abuse’ of Holy Quran by ‘extremists’ in Sweden

Saudi Arabia condemned the deliberate abuse of the Holy Quran by extremists in Sweden, the Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry said early Monday.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s condemnation of the deliberate abuse of the Holy Quran, provocations and incitement against Muslims by some extremists in Sweden,” the ministry said in a statement.

It added: “The Kingdom stresses the importance of concerted efforts to spread the values of dialogue, tolerance, coexistence, renounce hatred, extremism and exclusion and prevent abuse of all religions and holy sites.”

Earlier on Sunday, Swedish public broadcaster Sveriges Radio reported violent protests across several cities over the weekend, which saw police clash with counter demonstrators.

“The chaotic scenes stem from public resentment over planned rallies by an anti-Islam far-right group that had planned to burn copies of the Quran at its gatherings.”