• Prince Faisal said that extremists are exploiting freedom of expression to fuel hatred, and not only aim to critisize Islam but also provoke Muslim communities

Arab News

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan reiterated the Kingdom’s total rejection of all attempts to insult the holy Qur’an during a phone call with his Danish counterpart on Tuesday.

He also repeated the Kingdom’s demands that immediate measures are taken to stop such extremist acts that offend the feelings of Muslims around the world.

Prince Faisal also said that extremists are exploiting freedom of expression to fuel hatred, and not only aim to critisize Islam but also provoke Muslim communities. He added that this matter may not serve Denmark’s interests internationally and only extremists will benefit from such practices.

Lars Lokke Rasmussen, on his part, expressed his country’s condemnation of Qur’an burning incidents and his regret at such provocative actions. He also highlighted that his government had previously expressed its rejection of these incidents.

The Danish government said on Sunday it would seek to find a “legal tool” that could enable authorities to intervene in Qur’an desecrating protests, if deemed to entail “significant negative consequences for Denmark, not least with regard to security.”

“The fact that we are signalling both in Denmark and abroad that we are working on it will hopefully help de-escalate the problems we are facing,” Rasmussen told journalists on Monday.

“It is not because we feel pressured to do so, but it is our political analysis that it is in the best interest of all of us,” Rasmussen said. “We shouldn’t just sit and wait for this to explode.”

However, a Qur’an burning took place in Denmark on Monday.