Updated 20:00 | Published at 19:38
After a meeting, the 57 Muslim countries in the Islamic Cooperation Organization OIC jointly condemn Sweden and Denmark after the high-profile Koran burnings.
The member states are asked to consider independent measures – including political and economic – against the two Nordic countries.
In a specially convened digital meeting on Monday, the countries agreed on 35 points on how to respond to the Koran burnings. In a longer statement, they write, among other things:
“(We) call on the member states to consider what they consider to be appropriate measures against the countries where the Holy Quran is desecrated and burned, which includes Sweden and Denmark”.
The measures include “necessary efforts at the political level, including summoning ambassadors for consultations as well as economic, cultural or other (measures) to express the disapproval of repeated insults against the Holy Quran and Islamic symbols”.
“Criminal act”
In addition to strongly urging Sweden and Denmark to take legal action against the burnings, the OIC is also reaching out more widely internationally.
The organization will send a delegation to the European Commission to “express the condemnation” of the desecration of the Koran and call on the Union to “ensure that ‘this criminal act’ is not repeated with freedom of expression as justification.”
The Koran burnings must also be taken up in other international bodies such as the UN.
“International legal texts”
One of the steps in these forums is for the OIC to take initiatives against acts of hatred against Islam and its symbols and shrines in the interpretation of the relevant conventions “as well as develop new international legal texts for this purpose”.
In addition, the organization wants the issue of the burning of the Koran and other holy scriptures to be raised in connection with the next meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Furthermore, the issue should be on the agenda during future meetings in various Islamic organizations.