In an issued statement on Thursday, the Supreme Shiite Islamic Council denounced ‘the Swedish police’s permission to burn a copy of the Holy Qur’an in a described aggression against the Islamic nation and a flagrant violation of freedom of religion and belief that denotes an insult to all believers in the world, especially Muslims.’ The Council called in its statement on the Arab and Islamic world to take a serious stance amidst such religious infringement and the degeneration of culture that aims to spread decadence and immoral behavior in order to weaken and eliminate human and religious values. It deemed that behind such reprehensible acts stand the atheist and blasphemous West and global Zionism that aim to eradicate civilized human values. “This racist cultural attack has crossed all legal, human and moral boundaries, which makes it imperative for Arab and Islamic countries, organizations and associations concerned with preserving moral, human and legal values, especially in the Arab and Islamic world, to confront this danger that threatens humanity and the existence of mankind, to raise the voice and take the necessary measures to confront this aggression against our nation and our sanctities, especially the Holy Qur’an,’ the Council underlined, instead of being content with mere statements of denunciation and condemnation. Furthermore, it called on the masses of our nation, its intellectuals, and its social and cultural formations to express their denunciation of this sinful aggression protected by the authority of the Swedish government, and pressure it to stop such targeting acts against our sanctities which are being repeated in more than one European country in blatant defiance of the feelings of our nation’s peoples. The Council also called on all spiritual authorities, including the Vatican and the Eastern Church, to “take a position regarding this aggression, which will not be limited to Islam and its symbols in a series of systematic attacks that affect everyone, especially Christian and religious sanctities in general.” Finally, the Council blamed ‘Western governments, including the government of Sweden, which sponsored this flagrant and heinous violation, for “the seriousness of what is happening on its land in terms of critical violations which may lead to unforeseen reactions that contribute to pushing towards religious wars that global Zionism aims for…the price of which will be paid by both the Islamic and Christian worlds.”

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon