Plea to Pope Francis: Guide Western Nations in Preventing Quran Desecration
The request was made by Hojat-ol-Islam Abolhassan Navvab in a letter to the leader of the world's Catholics, published on Saturday in Iranian media outlets.
Navvab appreciated the stance of Pope Francis in condemning the recent attacks against the Holy Quran.
He noted that stripping religious rituals of their sacredness is the initial tactic to undermine religion.
“What's unfolding today in certain Western countries, under the guise of freedom of expression, is a deeply offensive action that aims to eliminate sacredness of Islamic sanctities and this is causing frustration among hundreds of millions of Quran-loving Muslims,” he wrote.
Based on the Quran, Muslims hold a deep reverence for Jesus Christ, his revered mother, and the holy prophets while also considering Christians as closest believers, he added.
The recurring acts of Quran desecration in Sweden and Denmark in the past few weeks have sparked wide condemnations.
In a letter in early August, Pope Francis slammed the acts as “barbaric”.
“The story of burning the Holy Qur’an is really a barbaric act. These cases harm and prevent mature dialog between people,” the Pope wrote in response.
Authorities in the Nordic states claim that they cannot stop the acts due to the absence of any blasphemy laws.
1629500
