Iran summons Danish, Swedish envoys over recurrent Quran desecration

TEHRAN - The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Sunday separately summoned the Danish and Swedish charges d'affaires in Tehran over the recurrent "desecration" of the Quran in the two Nordic countries, semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

In the meetings, the ministry strongly condemned the continuing "rude" insults to the Quran in the two countries, stressing that Iran holds the Swedish and Danish governments fully accountable for the acts against the Islamic holy book, said the report.

The two envoys were also urged to remind their governments of their international commitments based on articles 19 and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which stipulates that "everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference" and "any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited".

The ministry slammed the Swedish and Danish governments for "supporting the perpetrators" by failing to have serious determination to counter the hatemongering and Islamophobia in their countries.

For their part, the two envoys underlined that their countries condemn any insult to the Quran and are determined to prevent the recurrence of such acts by making changes to their domestic laws.

They also assured the ministry that they would immediately convey Iran's protest to their governments.

Over the past months, several copies of the Quran have been desecrated by anti-Islam individuals or groups in Sweden and Denmark, sparking outrage and criticism in Muslim-majority countries worldwide.