Arab Countries Condemn Tearing up of Quran in The Hague

20 April 2020, North Rhine-Westphalia, Wuppertal: A view of the Holy Quran at a Mosque. (dpa)
20 April 2020, North Rhine-Westphalia, Wuppertal: A view of the Holy Quran at a Mosque. (dpa)
TT

Arab Countries Condemn Tearing up of Quran in The Hague

20 April 2020, North Rhine-Westphalia, Wuppertal: A view of the Holy Quran at a Mosque. (dpa)
20 April 2020, North Rhine-Westphalia, Wuppertal: A view of the Holy Quran at a Mosque. (dpa)

Egypt and the United Arab Emirates condemned on Monday an extremist group for tearing up copies of the holy Quran in front of various embassies in The Hague, the Netherlands.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the repeated desecration of the Quran, saying such “provocative and reckless” acts are offensive to millions of Muslims and only stoke hatred.

The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the Dutch government to take responsibility to stop these actions.

It emphasized the importance of monitoring hate speech that negatively impacts peace and security, read a statement carried by the UAE state news agency (WAM). Furthermore, the Ministry expressed its rejection of the use of freedom of expression as justification for such heinous acts.

It underscored the UAE's rejection of all practices aimed at undermining security and stability in contravention of human values and principles. It reaffirmed that hate speech and extremism contradict international efforts to spread the values of tolerance, coexistence and peace between peoples.

It underscored the need to respect religious symbols and avoid incitement and polarization at a time when the international community needs to work together to reiterate a commitment to upholding the universal principles of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. The Ministry emphasized that these principles should be promoted and implemented to achieve stability and sustainable development.

The Ministry remarked that hate speech and extremism are closely linked to the spread and escalation of conflict.

Bahrain strongly condemned the tearing up of copies of the Quran.

A Foreign Affairs Ministry statement reiterated a call to stop such hateful provocative actions, viewing them as incitement to hostility and religious and racial hatred.

Such acts contradict international efforts aimed at promoting the values of tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and mutual respect between peoples and cultures, it added.

Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Egypt expressed its “deep disappointment” in the tearing up of the Quran, saying it was the “latest in a series of crimes against Islam and its sanctities.”

In a statement, it added that such crimes “demonstrate that some western governments are not determined and not serious about consolidating values of world peace and peaceful coexistence that the al-Azhar has been trying to promote.”

It called on “all western governments and people, as well as the entire world, to deeply study Islam and understand its message in a way that reflects the modernity and civility that these countries claim to represent.”

Saudi Arabia had strongly denounced the tearing up of the Quran.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the Kingdom’s total rejection of such hateful and repeated acts, saying that these cannot be accepted under any justifications.

“Such acts clearly incite hatred and racism, and directly contradict international efforts seeking to spread the values of tolerance, and moderation, apart from rejecting extremism, and undermining the necessary mutual respect for relations between peoples and countries,” the ministry said in a statement reported by SPA.

Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry condemned the “heinous” tearing up of the Quran, reiterating its call on the international community to stand against such acts that “provoke Muslim sentiments and spread hatred under the excuse of freedom of expression.”

In a statement on the X platform, it underlined the importance of cooperation between all nations to confront such acts.

Oman echoed concerns that such acts incite violence and hatred.



Lebanon Hopes for Neighborly Relations in First Message to New Syria Government

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
TT

Lebanon Hopes for Neighborly Relations in First Message to New Syria Government

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)

Lebanon said on Thursday it was looking forward to having the best neighborly relations with Syria, in its first official message to the new administration in Damascus.

Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib passed the message to his Syrian counterpart, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, in a phone call, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said on X.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah played a major part propping up Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad through years of war, before bringing its fighters back to Lebanon over the last year to fight in a bruising war with Israel - a redeployment which weakened Syrian government lines.

Under Assad, Hezbollah used Syria to bring in weapons and other military equipment from Iran, through Iraq and Syria and into Lebanon. But on Dec. 6, anti-Assad fighters seized the border with Iraq and cut off that route, and two days later, opposition factions captured the capital Damascus.

Syria's new de-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is seeking to establish relations with Arab and Western leaders after toppling Assad.