DHAKA: Bangladesh summoned the chargé d’affaires of the Swedish Embassy in Dhaka on Sunday to protest against the burning of a copy of the Qur’an in Stockholm amid widespread international condemnation over the incident.
The burning of the Qur’an outside a mosque in Sweden during Eid Al-Adha sparked outrage in many Muslim countries and condemnations of the Swedish authorities.
As acts and statements of protest swept the Muslim world, Bangladesh on Sunday became the first country in Asia to summon the Swedish envoy to protest the “despicable act.”
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged an end to “unwarranted provocations for the sake of harmony and peaceful coexistence.”
The ministry said: “Bangladesh expresses grave concern over such (a) heinous act of insulting the sacred values and religious symbols of … Muslims in the name of ‘freedom of expression.’”
As Muslims celebrated Eid Al-Adha, one of the most important holidays in the Islamic calendar, a man identified as a refugee from Iraq tore up pages of the Qur’an on Wednesday and set it on fire in front of Stockholm’s largest mosque.
The recent incident in Stockholm and Dhaka’s subsequent summon of the Swedish envoy is unlikely to impact bilateral relations, experts said.
“It’s a religious issue that touches all the Muslims of the country. Any sort of disrespect to the holy Qur’an creates emotional sentiment among Muslims around the world. It’s a very emotional and sensitive issue for us,” Humayun Kabir, Bangladesh’s former ambassador to the US, told Arab News.
“I think summoning the chargé d’affaires was a good approach … I don’t think this summon issue will impact much on the bilateral relations between the two countries since they (Sweden) also understand it’s an emotional issue for us.”
For Bangladesh, development cooperation has been a “cornerstone” of its relations with Sweden, while the European country has said the South Asian nation is an “important and growing Swedish trade partner,” with steady growth in the sector.
Bangladesh is one of the largest Muslim-majority countries in the world, with over 150 million people professing Islam, making up over 91 percent of its total population.
Touhid Hossain, former foreign secretary at the Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, highlighted how Bangladesh is not alone in protesting the Qur’an burning in Sweden.
“We are not alone. Many Muslim countries expressed reactions to this issue. Not all Muslim countries but many,” Hossain told Arab News.
“The government should work in line with the sentiment of its people. Maybe people don’t come out onto the streets in protest, but everyone is unhappy. There is no doubt about it. So, the government took this initiative as a part of its responsibility,” he said.
“There is no logic to justify this sort of incident by saying ‘freedom of expression.’ It’s a hate crime. Hate can’t be a freedom of expression.”
