Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Summons Swedish And Danish Ambassadors Regarding Al-Quran Blasphemy

The photo archive - Protesters who are members of the Banten Citizens Brotherhood Forum (FPWB) carried posters during a protest protest against the burning of the Koran by Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan/ANTARA PHOTO/Asep Fathulrahman/tom/aa.

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the ambassadors of Sweden and Denmark in Jakarta to convey criticism regarding the Al-Quran blasphemy incident in the two European countries.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Teuku Faizasyah, said that the summons of the Swedish ambassador was carried out on July 20. Meanwhile, the summons of the Danish Embassy's interim ad attorney was carried out on July 24.

Through the summons, he said, Indonesia emphasized that there should be no harassment against symbols that are tainted by ethnic groups or adherents of certain religions, such as the recent burning of the Koran in Sweden and Denmark.

"We want to see justice in responding to issues that have high sensitivity due to the emotional closeness between our society and the holy book in question," said Faizasyah as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, August 1.

In addition to summoning the ambassadors of the relevant countries, Indonesia through its representatives in Stockholm and Copenhagen has made a statement aimed at condemning the burning incident of the Muslim holy book.

At the same time, Indonesia is also conducting a joint campaign with member countries of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN) to ensure that this issue gets great attention.

This incident cannot be coordinated only as freedom of expression because of its big implications. And it is not only Indonesia that reacts, many countries have expressed similar opinions," said Faizasyah.

He emphasized that Indonesia will continue to oversee the development of this issue, by following statements and reports from the governments of Sweden and Denmark.

Five acts of blasphemy and burning of the Quran during 2023, all of which occurred in Europe.

Two of the latest incidents occurred on June 25 or coincided with Eid al-Adha, when an Iraqi immigrant in Sweden, Salwan Momika, burned the Al-Quran in front of the largest mosque in Stockholm as an anti-Islamic protest.

The despicable action then repeated on July 22 when a member of Denmark's far-right group, Danske Patrioter, burned the Islamic holy book in front of the Iraqi Embassy in Copenhagen.

The entire incident of Al-Quran blasphemy sparked outrage and diplomatic protests from many governments around the world, especially Muslim-majority countries, including Indonesia.

However, there has been no firm action from the governments of Sweden and Denmark in dealing with the matter, other than criticism.

In EU countries, including Sweden, the burning of holy books is not prohibited by the government. There is no law in Sweden that specifically prohibits burning or blasphemy of the Koran or other religious books.

Like many Western countries, Sweden does not have a blasphemy law.

Many Muslim countries have called on the Swedish government to stop protesters from burning the Koran.

However, in Sweden, all decisions regarding demonstration permits are under the authority of the police, not the government.

In addition, freedom of expression in Sweden is also protected by the constitution. Police must have clear reasons to refuse demonstration permits, for example, there are risks or threats to public safety.