Nigeria and 56 other countries under the aegis of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, (OIC), have condemned the recent incident of an Iraqi refugee living in Sweden who burned several pages of the Quran.
According to reports, an Iraqi native, Salwan Momika, set fire to the holy book outside a mosque on the first day of Eid-el Kabir.
The Swedish government condemned the burning of a Quran outside Stockholm’s major mosque, describing it as an “Islamophobic” act. Last week, the government accused Momika of incitement against an ethnic or national group.
However, in a statement by the organisation, issued after a meeting in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah, the OIC Secretary-General, Hissein Brahim Taha said a clear message must be sent across the international community regarding the international law, which prohibits “religious hatred”.
“We must send constant reminders to the international community regarding the urgent application of international law, which clearly prohibits any advocacy of religious hatred”, Taha said.
The OIC said on its website that it “has the mandate to monitor Islamophobia trend and to provide periodical reports to member states; while being encouraged to take necessary measures to address the phenomenon in coordination and cooperation with member states, international communities and the UN Human Rights mechanism, as well as with other international entities whenever it is possible.”
It added that through a “dedicated unit within the OIC General Secretariat, which is the Islamophobia Observatory, such mandate is being implemented mainly by monitoring events and incidents on (a) daily basis”.
