Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Othman: Burning Copies of the Holy Quran is a Violation of the Values of Coexistence and Mutual Respect
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Othman condemned the recent burning of copies of the Holy Quran in Sweden and Denmark, calling it a “flagrant violation of the values of coexistence and mutual respect, and a clear provocation to the feelings of Muslims around the world.”
In his speech at the Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Othman said that Algeria “renews its strong condemnation of these hateful acts and disgraceful behavior, and rejects categorically the repeated attempts to justify and justify these heinous attacks by invoking or pleading freedom of opinion and expression.”
Othman continued, “The extremism in the obligation to adhere to freedom of opinion and expression in an absolute way, like any other extremism, cannot be convincing or accepted as an excuse to exempt the crimes committed in its name from receiving their due punishment. It cannot be convincing or accepted as a consideration to be considered as a tributary of democracy that is not alone subject to accountability and accountability.”
The minister added, “Unresponsible freedom of opinion and expression is not freedom and cannot be a right. Irresponsible freedom harms the freedom of the other, and irresponsible freedom is not a right because it is an aggression on the rights of the other.”
Othman condemned the freedom of expression that is used to provoke the feelings of the other, offend his beliefs, undermine his values, and attack his most sacred sanctities, saying, “What is this freedom of opinion and expression that demands respect in a way that does not accept any exception, and which is taken as an excuse to ignite the fire of hatred and hatred and to sow the seeds of racism, discrimination, exclusion and to spread messages of conflict and conflict.”
The minister added, “What is this freedom of opinion and expression that is imposed to adhere to it, which divides instead of uniting and stirs up hatred and animosity in the hearts instead of bringing them together and calling for alienation and hostility instead of serving coexistence, tolerance and understanding between peoples and nations.”
Othman also extended his sincere condolences to the Republic of Pakistan following the terrorist attack it suffered, which Algeria strongly condemned, saying: “We share the pain and suffering of our brothers in Pakistan.”
In conclusion, Othman said that “Our meeting today is a precious opportunity to unite our word, align our ranks, and mobilize all the means available to us to defend our holy places in the face of the open attacks and despicable campaigns they are exposed to.”
He added that “Our organization, which carries the banner of defending Islam and Muslims around the world and assumes the responsibility of defending their holy places at all times, is today, in a clear and urgent manner, called upon to mobilize and organize our collective efforts to respond to the advocates of non-coexistence, intolerance and non-dialogue who desecrate a book whose core is coexistence, tolerance and dialogue.”
