Condemn burning of the Holy Qur’an in Sweden
- Parliament:
- 2019–24
- Signatures:
- 64,735
- Responded:
- 20 Jul 2023
- Department:
- Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
The petition
We ask our Government to publicly condemn the burning of the Qur’an incident in Sweden.
Holy Qur’an was burnt in Stockholm – Sweden on 21 January 2023.
The Sweden Government allowed the protest where the Qur’an was burnt under freedom of expression, but has since condemned this act.
This sort of incident promotes Islamophobia on targets the Muslim community, and we want the Government to be clear it condemns actions like this.
The government's response
The UK Government strongly condemns the burning of the Holy Qur’an. The UK Government is committed to freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief, and denounces hatred.
The UK condemns the burning of the Holy Qur’an and appreciates the immense sense of outrage expressed by Muslims around the world caused by the burning of the Holy Qur’an, an act which is deeply insulting.
The Swedish Government has also made clear that it condemns the burning of holy texts and recognises the offence and disrespect caused by such acts.
The UK Government is committed to both freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief, and wants to foster a respectful and understanding society. We continue to promote mutual respect between different religious and non-religious communities.
We unequivocally condemn incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, wherever this occurs, and we denounce hatred on the basis of religion or belief.
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office