Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Saudi Foreign Minister, urged member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to join efforts to take practical and effective steps to counter the recurring violations against the Holy Quran.
He pointed that the charter of the OIC called for upholding and protecting the true image of Islam, addressing attempts to misrepresent Islam and the encouragement of inter-faith dialogue.
The minister spoke during an online meeting of OIC member states foreign ministers who held an extraordinary session to discuss the recurring incidents of burning copies of the Holy Quran in a number of western countries.
Prince Faisal reiterated his country's condemnation of those provocative actions, stressing that they cannot be justified or accepted and that they violated international accords on peace and coexistence. He added that they also counteracted international efforts to promote acceptance and moderation and undermined principles of mutual respect between countries and communities.
The Saudi foreign minister underlined the role of OIC in liaising with other Islamic organisations to protect values of acceptance and peace, recalling that the efforts of OIC members have led to the endorsement of the resolution on "Countering religious hatred constituting incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence" by the Human Rights Council on July 12.
Prince Faisal said it was important that freedom of expression acted as an ethical value to promote respect and coexistence, rather than turning into a tool to spread hatred and conflict between cultures and people.
Source: Bahrain News Agency