Pope Francis considers the recent burning of the Koran in Stockholm to be “unacceptable” and “reprehensible” and calls for freedom of expression not to be used as an “excuse to offend others.”
In an exclusive interview with the United Arab Emirates state newspaper Al Ittihad, published Monday, the Pope said: “Allowing this [queima do Alcorão] It is unacceptable and reprehensible (…). Freedom of expression should not be used as an excuse to offend others (…). Our mission is to transform the religious sense into cooperation, fraternity and tangible works of good”, he said.
In an interview, the Pope referred to the document Human Fraternity for World Peace and Communal Coexistence, which he assassinated in February 2019 with the chief of the most important institution of Sunni Islamism (Al Azhar), Ahmed al Tayeb, during a visit to the Emirates United Arabs.
“Now we need builders of peace, not manufacturers of weapons, not instigators of conflicts (…). We need firefighters, not arsonists, we need advocates for reconciliation, not those who threaten destruction,” he said.
According to the newspaper, the Pope added: “Either the civilization of brotherhood or retrograde enmity (…). Either we build the future together, or there will be no future.”
On June 28, the first day of Eid al Adha, a man of Iraqi origin burned pages of a copy of the holy book in front of the Great Mosque of Stockholm, during a demonstration authorized by the Swedish authorities attended by some 200 people.
This act was popularly and officially condemned in the Arab and Islamic world and countries such as Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates called the Swedes ambassadors of their respective countries.
Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Abulgueit blamed Sweden for allowing the act and warned of the “results and consequences of this heinous incident.”
On Sunday, the Swedish Foreign Ministry condemned the burning of Koran pages, calling it “Islamophobia.”
In a statement, the government stressed that “Islamophobic acts committed during protests in Sweden may be offensive to Muslims.”
Thus, he “strongly condemned” what happened, noting that the facts in question do not reflect the opinion of the Executive.
Source: TSF
