The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), H.E. Hissein Brahim Taha called on Member States to take unified and collective measures to prevent the recurrence of incidents of desecration of copies of the Holy Qur’an and insult against our honored Prophet Muhammad, may ALLAH’s blessings and peace be upon him.

This call came at the extraordinary, open-ended meeting of the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation,  held today, July 2, 2023, at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Jeddah , to discuss measures on the repercussions of the incident of burning a copy of the Holy Qur’an that took place in front of the Central Mosque in the Swedish capital, Stockholm,  on the first day  of Eid al-Adha. 



The Executive Committee meeting was held at the invitation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, current Chair of the Islamic Summit and the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The Secretary-General said “unfortunately, on the first day of that auspicious occasion, when all Muslims around the world were celebrating the Eid, a despicable act of desecration of a copy of  Holy Qur’an was committed outside the central mosque in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden”. He pointed out that the meeting was held to discuss the appropriate response.

Mr. Taha also stressed the need to send a clear message that acts of desecration of copies of the Holy Qur’an and insults against our honored Prophet Muhammad, may ALLAH’s blessings and peace be upon him, were not mere ordinary Islamophobia incidents. We must send constant reminders to the international community regarding the urgent application of international law, which clearly prohibits any advocacy of religious hatred.