The Human Rights Committee of the Shura Council expressed its deep concern as to the Swedish authority’s decision to allow an extremist to burn a Holy Quran during a protest in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. The Committee considered this vile act as a clear attack on Islam and its values under the guise of freedom of expression. This incident is contrary to the basic principles of human rights and is rejected by all religions and divine laws as these attacks are Islamophobic and demonstrate bigotry towards the religion of Islam and to those of the Muslim faith.
The Human Rights Committee urges International communities to adopt His Majesty’s call to initiate an International Convention to criminalize all religious and racial hate speech in all its forms and to prohibit the misuse of media channels and the internet to spread and promote violence and terrorism, in the aim to control lies and false propaganda that are spread through media, in compliance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Islamic values.
From this standpoint, the Human Rights Committee calls on the international communities to adhere to the principles of tolerance and peaceful coexistence between all religions and beliefs and abide by the standards of freedom of expression.
Specifically, the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article (20/2), prohibits calls for religious hatred that encourages discrimination, hostility or violence.