The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Libyan House of Representatives (HoR) condemned the burning of a Quran in front of the Turkish Embassy in the Swedish capital, Stockholm.
In a statement, the Libya parliamentary committee stressed that this act is insulting and a hate crime, it is not considered freedom of opinion.
The committee expressed its deep dissatisfaction with the Swedish government’s failure to take measures that do not encourage their recurrence. It called on the Swedish Ambassador to Libya to explain her government’s position on the incident.
The statement stressed that the Swedish government’s “negligent” position threatens relations between the two countries and Sweden’s interests in the region. It was described as a laxity that violates the principle of freedom of religion and coexistence between different peoples and cultures.
The committee stressed the need to work hard to prevent incidents of defamation of religions, to tighten laws in this regard, as well as to act firmly against any act that does not respect the sanctities of others.
Last week, the Libyan Foreign Minister of the Parliament-designated government, Hafez Gaddour, criticized the Swedish authorities after they allowed demonstrators, headed by the leader of a far-right party, to burn a copy of the Quran.
“I express my refusal to give permission from the Swedish authorities to demonstrators, led by the leader of a far-right party, who burned a copy of the Holy Quran,” the Libyan Foreign Minister tweeted on Saturday.
“These extremist actions cannot fall under the principle of freedom of expression, but rather aggressive behavior that encourages hatred and fuels extremism and terrorism,” he stressed.
“The divine religions are honoured and appreciated, and the continuous attempts of extremists to offend, ridicule, and contempt cannot be accepted.”
Notably, the leader of the Danish far-right “hard-line” party, Rasmus Paludan, burned a Quran near the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.
