THERE appears to be no end to the repeated grotesque acts of attacking Islam’s sacred symbols, mainly because Western states refuse to take any solid action against these provocations that occur on their soil. The latest outrage involves the same Swedish resident — of Iraqi Christian origin — who had burnt a copy of the Holy Quran outside a Stockholm mosque on Eidul Azha.

On Thursday, the provocateur again desecrated the Muslim sacred text outside the Iraqi embassy, while also disrespecting the Arab country’s flag, which has the name of God on it.

Earlier, when news broke that the Swedish authorities had given him permission to carry out his second ‘protest’, Iraqi demonstrators stormed the Nordic country’s mission in Baghdad. The reaction from the Muslim world after the latest incitement has been one of indignation.

The Iraqi government has expelled the Swedish ambassador, while Saudi Arabia has called upon Stockholm to “stop these disgraceful acts”. Iran, meanwhile, has noted that freedom of speech is being used to “attack dignity, morals and religious sanctities”. Pakistan has also observed that “provocative acts of religious hatred cannot be justified”.

If these had been one-off incidents, the Muslim world may have brushed them aside as the dreadful antics of madmen. But these hateful acts are increasing in frequency, supported by hard-right actors, Islamophobes, and supposed defenders of free speech.

As a resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council recently noted, these acts are not about free expression, but religious hatred. Moreover, there is a wide chasm in the worldview of the West and most of the Global South where the profaning of sacred symbols is concerned.

The former insists that while these acts are unsavoury, they are protected by free speech, while the latter asserts that attacking religious symbols is a calculated act of hatred and violence that has little to do with freedom of conscience.

Clearly, even the West has red lines where free expression is concerned — defiling the memory of the Holocaust being amongst these. It is sad that these red lines do not apply to the sacred symbols of Islam.

Meanwhile, there were protests when a Syrian Muslim resident of Sweden announced he would burn the Torah and Bible — but he did not do so, stressing that the idea was to show that “freedom of speech has limits” and that people “must respect each other”.

The responsibility to control acts of desecration lies with Western governments. Either the West can help build a more tolerant world where people have the freedom of belief, and their sacred symbols are protected from violent extremists. Or it can hide behind smug notions of ‘enlightenment’ and free expression, which are little more than a cover for bigotry and religious prejudice.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2023