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OIC Calls for Collective Measures to Prevent Quran Desecration

The 57-member body met at its headquarters in Jeddah. SPA
The 57-member body met at its headquarters in Jeddah. SPA
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OIC Calls for Collective Measures to Prevent Quran Desecration

The 57-member body met at its headquarters in Jeddah. SPA
The 57-member body met at its headquarters in Jeddah. SPA

The Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation has called for collective measures to prevent acts of desecration of the Quran.

The 57-member body met at its headquarters in Jeddah to respond to Wednesday’s incident in which a man living in Sweden set several pages of the Quran alight.

The OIC urged member states to “take unified and collective measures to prevent the recurrence of incidents of desecration of copies of the” Quran, according to a statement released after the extraordinary meeting.

"We must send constant reminders to the international community regarding the urgent application of international law, which clearly prohibits any advocacy of religious hatred," OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha said.

The Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the OIC, Dr. Saleh bin Hamad Al-Suhaibani, in the Kingdom's speech, expressed high appreciation for the active attendance “to discuss the blatant provocative actions and the repeated despicable acts of attacking the sanctity of the Quran in Sweden.”

Dr. Al-Suhaibani said: "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expresses its strong condemnation and denunciation of these repeated despicable acts and stresses that these hateful acts cannot be accepted under any justification as they clearly incite hatred, exclusion, and racism.”

“The Kingdom calls for harmony, peace, and rapprochement. These acts directly contradict international efforts seeking to spread the values of tolerance, moderation, and rejection of extremism, and undermine the principles of mutual respect necessary for relations among peoples and states,” he added.

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Gulf

GCC Reaffirms Support for Kuwait on Khor Abdullah Dispute

A glimpse of the GCC Ministerial Council's extraordinary meeting via video conference on Tuesday (GCC)
A glimpse of the GCC Ministerial Council's extraordinary meeting via video conference on Tuesday (GCC)
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GCC Reaffirms Support for Kuwait on Khor Abdullah Dispute

A glimpse of the GCC Ministerial Council's extraordinary meeting via video conference on Tuesday (GCC)
A glimpse of the GCC Ministerial Council's extraordinary meeting via video conference on Tuesday (GCC)

Gulf Arab states on Tuesday voiced their full support for Kuwait’s position in a maritime border dispute with Iraq, stressing the need for positive progress in demarcation talks and for Baghdad to respect Kuwaiti sovereignty.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi said the bloc’s 47th extraordinary ministerial meeting was held in Riyadh under the chairmanship of Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Abdullah Al-Yahya, whose country holds the rotating presidency.

The ministers discussed developments concerning the demarcation of the maritime boundary between Kuwait and Iraq beyond border marker 162.

Albudaiwi said Kuwait's foreign minister briefed his counterparts on the latest developments with Iraq and the outcomes of recent discussions on the issue.

In a joint statement, GCC foreign ministers expressed “the full and unwavering support of member states for Kuwait’s position on the maritime boundary demarcation with Iraq.”

They also called for “positive progress in the ongoing talks and a firm commitment to all protocols agreed by the joint technical and legal committee” on the demarcation process beyond marker 162.

Albudaiwi added that the GCC ministers reaffirmed their categorical rejection of any infringement on Kuwait’s sovereignty, including over its territory, islands, highlands, and maritime zones.

GCC ministers also reiterated their firm stance on the ownership of the Durra gas field, reaffirming commitment to previous decisions made during the GCC’s 45th summit in December 2024.

The council emphasized that the entire Durra field lies within Kuwait’s maritime territory, underscoring that the natural resources in the submerged area adjacent to the divided zone shared between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia – including the Durra field – are jointly owned by the two countries.

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia hold exclusive rights to exploit these resources, in accordance with international law and existing agreements between the two nations.

The GCC’s statement further stressed its resolute rejection of any claims by other parties to rights over the Durra field or the submerged area bordering the Kuwait-Saudi divided zone.