Indonesian Foreign Ministry Summons Danish Deputy Ambassador, Condemns Qur’an Burning
Jakarta, MINA – The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Danish Deputy Ambassador in Jakarta on Monday. This was done in relation to the burning of the Qur’an which recently occurred in that country.
Spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Teuku Faizasyah said, in the summons he conveyed a strong condemnation of the blasphemy of the holy book of Islam.”
The Deputy Ambassador of Denmark was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday and delivered a strong condemnation of the incident of blasphemy against the Islamic holy book,” Faizasyah told MINA on Tuesday.
Last Friday, members of the Danish right-wing group, Danske Patrioker, burned Al-Qur’ans in front of the Iraqi Embassy building in Copenhagen. Not only that, they also burned the flag of the Iraqi state.
The action of the Danske Patrioker members immediately drew criticism. The Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the World Muslim League have condemned the burning of the Qur’an by Danske Patrioker members.
The Danish government also condemned the action. “The Danish government condemns the burning of the Qur’an. Burning holy books and other religious symbols is a shameful act that does not respect other people’s religions,” the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement uploaded on its official website last Saturday.
Denmark said burning the Qur’an was a provocative act. The action was considered not only to hurt many people, but also to create divisions between different religions and cultures in the country.
“Denmark has freedom of religion and many Danes are Muslim. They (Muslims) are a valuable part of the Danish population,” said the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Denmark underlines that freedom of expression and freedom of assembly must be respected. Denmark supports the right to protest but emphasizes it must remain peaceful,” the Danish Foreign Ministry added in its statement. (T/RE1/P2)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)