The official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Abu Zeid, stated that the Chargé d’Affaires of Sweden in Cairo was summoned to inform him of Egypt’s strong condemnation and complete rejection of the unfortunate and repeated incidents of burning and abuse of copies of the Holy Quran in Sweden.
Ehab Nasr, Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs, summoned on Tuesday morning at the ministry’s headquarters the Chargé d’Affaires of the Swedish Embassy in Cairo.
Nasr stressed during the meeting that Egypt has already warned of the dangerous and negative repercussions of the repetition of these rejected events.
It also warned of the growing phenomenon of Islamophobia, inciting hate speech and extremism and encouraging destructive endeavors and ideas seeking to destroy the bonds of civilized communication between the peoples and societies of the world.
In this regard, the Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs stressed Egypt’s firm stance rejecting displays of contempt or defamation of all religions that do not in any way represent a manifestation of the right to freedom of expression, which requires not offending the beliefs of others or desecrating their sanctities.
This is as expressed in the relevant statements of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the latest of which was issued on 21 July 2023, as demonstrated by the negative repercussions currently in place resulting from these unfortunate incidents.
The Assistant Foreign Minister also stressed the need for the Swedish authorities and other countries that have experienced similar incidents, to take measures to prevent the recurrence of such unfortunate incidents and hold the perpetrators accountable.
Ambassador Nasr reiterated the Egyptian position on the need to preserve the culture of tolerance and the principles of Peaceful Coexistence, Dialogue and acceptance of the other, which contributes to the strengthening of friendly and civilized relations between the peoples and countries of the world.
