YAUM-E-TAQADDUS-E-QURAN TODAY.
ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said the desecration of Holy Quran was an attempt to create animosity between the Muslims and Christians and any recurrence of such condemnable act, would in no way be tolerated.
The prime minister, in his address to the joint sitting of the parliament, urged United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to convene an urgent session to invite the Muslim world leaders, adopt a condemnatory resolution and also warn the Swedish government and such individuals against the recurrence of such condemnable acts.
"The Holy Quran teaches the philosophy of love, respect and patience to the entire world," he said adding that we Muslims respect the books of other religions.
“Never has anyone heard or seen the Bible being desecrated or burnt here. We respect all these religions so that no one points a finger at our religion or book,” said the premier, claiming that events such as the one in Sweden were a part of “a conspiracy to create rifts between Christians and Muslims” and demanded that such actions be condemned.
He appreciated the Islamic countries for their immediate reaction to the incident.
“The incident that took place in Sweden on Eid, we need to tell the world that this won’t be tolerated,” he asserted.
“It is a part of our belief that we should sacrifice our lives to uphold the honour of the Holy Quran without worrying about anything ,” he said clarifying that the restraint that they are showing must not be seen as a weakness. Sharif called on people from all walks of life, as well as political and religious parties, to take to the streets on Friday (July 7) and register their protest against the incident and “give a message to the world”.
He said that the “vile man” who disrespected the Holy Quran should be punished in an exemplary manner, highlighting that that could only be done through legal and political discussions. “For this purpose, I want to appreciate the efforts of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation,” PM Shehbaz said, referring to an emergency meeting of the group which took place earlier this week.
He said that although Sweden had condemned the incident, it should clear its position on why the incident took place at all.
“We are not against freedom of speech, but no one has the right to talk about anyone’s religion or do propaganda against Muslims. No law in the world allows this,” he stressed, recalling that similar incidents had taken place in Sweden in the past as well.
He also mentioned former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Arden had talked about the way she “respected and protected Muslims”. He paid tribute to Arden and said Pakistan would always remember her.
He urged the National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to form a committee with a mandate to formulate recommendations for their onward dissemination to the world including international organisations so that such acts could be averted. The prime minister urged the parliamentarians to condemn the act of Swedish police and make it clear that the Muslims could even sacrifice their lives to protect the sanctity of the Holy Quran.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged the House to put forward suggestions which would be raised at the UN platform to realise the world that the billions of Muslims would not allow any repetition of such hateful acts.
“This is beyond tolerance. This is not the first time as earlier too, same thing happened in Sweden. This must be condemned in the strongest possible words,” he said
He told the House that he was trying to contact with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to request him for convening an urgent session to invite the Muslim leaders and adopt a condemnatory resolution. “I will also ask him to warn such governments and individuals against redoing such acts aimed at fanning hatred,” he added.
The prime minister thanked Pope Francis for condemning the act, saying his dissociation of such Islamophobic action gave a positive image.
Earlier, the parliamentarians in a joint session passed a resolution urging Sweden to take “appropriate steps” against perpetrators involved in the recent incident of the Holy Quran’s desecration in Stockholm.
The lawmakers, in a unanimously passed resolution, stated that it believed in respecting all religions, beliefs and Holy Books. “This House urges that appropriate steps be taken by Swedish authorities against the perpetrator(s) including but not limited to legal action, and to ensure that no such act taken place in the future,” according to the resolution.
The lawmakers urged incidents of Islamophobia should be dealt with the same seriousness as hate against other religions.
“This house urges that relevant international organisations and states must legislate to criminalise desecration of holy symbols of religions including holy books, personalities, places of worship and followers.” “This house resolves that the international community take appropriate measures for promoting interfaith harmony to ensure that any act that hurts religious sentiments may never take place in the future,” it added. It was also decided in the house to form a committee for the purpose of condemning the desecration of the Holy Quran and suggesting measures to prevent such incidents in the future. Later, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while addressing a ceremony in connection with the 247th national day of the United States here, said that Pakistan and America are the good friends and the bilateral relations between the two countries are getting further strengthened.