PESHAWAR: Several senior lawyers have called upon the Swedish prime minister and its Supreme Court president to take notice of the incident of desecration of Holy Quran there and prohibit such acts in future.

Former secretary general of Peshawar High Court Bar Association Yasir Khattak and 14 other lawyers have sent a joint letter to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and president of Swedish Supreme Court Anders Bror Ek, requesting them to take notice of such issues in future that led to blasphemy, disrespecting of the Holy Quran or Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), degrading Islam and hurting sentiments of Muslims.

In the seven-page letter, they have provided details of the public outrage in several countries across the world against the said incident, stating that freedom of speech was a qualified but not absolute right.

“Freedom of expression does not mean freedom to incite hatred, incite racism, or vilification of beliefs. The burning of Holy Quran in Sweden will not achieve anything positive,” they said.

“Through constructive dialogue we can achieve favourable outcomes and construct a more enlightened society. Our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had always taught love, patience, tolerance and empathy. We extend the same virtues to you and hope you will reciprocate likewise,” they added.

About the incident, they stated that an Iraqi living in Sweden set fire to a copy of the Holy Quran outside Stockholm’s central mosque on June 28.

The lawyers stated that the incident took place on day of Eidul Azha and resulted in outrage in many Muslim countries and widespread condemnation of the Swedish authorities.

They regretted that the person involved in the incident was given a permit to protest by the Swedish police in accordance with free speech laws.

They said that Muslims considered the Holy Quran the sacred word of Allah and viewed any intentional damage or show of disrespect towards it as deeply offensive.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2023