MANILA: Muslim authorities in the predominantly Catholic Philippines condemned on Tuesday Qur’an burnings in Scandinavia, as they urged respect and unity among the global community.
Two protesters set fire to a copy of the Qur’an outside the Iraqi Embassy in Copenhagen on Monday.
It was the second time in less than a week that an ultranationalist Danish organization burned the holy book of Islam, following similar acts by different groups in neighboring Sweden.
Swedish and Danish officials have condemned the desecration of the Qur’an, but permitted the incidents under laws protecting freedom of expression, triggering widespread protests in Muslim communities across the world.
The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos said in a statement to Arab News that the acts were “not an exercise of freedom but a misuse of it” and that it stood “united in strong condemnation against the recent trend of Qur’an burning in several countries, including Sweden, Denmark, and others.”
NCMF is the body governing Muslim affairs in the Philippines, where they constitute roughly 5 percent of the population of 110 million.
“The deliberate desecration of this revered religious text not only offends the religious sentiments of Muslims but also jeopardizes the principles of coexistence and empathy that underpin our diverse society,” NCMF spokesperson Yusoph Mando said.
“As a society, we must recognize the fine line between free expression and promoting hate speech.”
The Philippine commission called on authorities of the countries where the Qur’an burnings took place to investigate them and “take appropriate legal measures against those responsible for promoting hatred and causing public disorder.”
As in many Muslim countries, protests in response to the incidents have turned violent, and the NCMF called on people to “exercise restraint and respond to hate with patience and understanding, embracing the true teachings of Islam — that of peace, forgiveness, and empathy.”