Iraqi Muslims protested Quran burning outside the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on June 30, 2023 (Photo: AFP/ VNA)

At the urgent session of the UN Human Rights Council to address the burning of the Quran incident in Stockholm last month, Pakistan's foreign minister said that the desecration of the Quran amounted to the incitement of religious hatred. He called on countries to review their laws and plug gaps that may “impede the prevention and prosecution of acts and advocacy of religious hatred”.

The Pakistani Foreign Minister's remarks were echoed by comments from ministers from Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia, with the latter calling the Quran burning an act of “Islamophobia”.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said that inflammatory acts and speech against Muslims are manifestations of utter disrespect. They are offensive, irresponsible, and wrong.

Germany’s UN Ambassador Katharina Stasch called the acts in Sweden a “dreadful provocation”, but added that “freedom of speech sometimes also means to bear opinions that may seem almost unbearable”. France’s UN envoy said human rights were about protecting people, not religions and their symbols.