New York : “We deeply condemn the repeated incidents of the public burning of Holy Quran in few countries as they insult the sacred values of Muslims worldwide”-said Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in New York while meeting the UN Secretary-General António Guterres 20 July at his office in his capacity as the Acting Chair of the OIC CFM. He was accompanied by representatives of other OIC countries including Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mauritania and Pakistan.

[caption id="attachment_7223" align="alignnone" width="2000"] Secretary-General António Guterres (3rd from right) meets with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Ambassadorial Group.[/caption]

During the meeting, Ambassador Muhith told the Secretary-General that such despicable acts of Holy Quran's desecration not only inflames the sentiments of Muslims worldwide but also goes against the principles of freedom of expression, religious tolerance and individual beliefs. He further stated that inaction against this form of religious hatred may lead to incitement of violence and thus destabilize the peace and security in many countries.

In this context, he also referred to the case of Rohingya Muslims who were forced to take shelter in Bangladesh owing to the consequences of religious and ethnic hatred in Myanmar.

Ambassador Muhith urged the UN Secretary General to request all UN member states to take appropriate legal measures at the national level to combat religious intolerance including  islamophobia, hate speech and desecration of Holy Quran and other religious symbols.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his solidarity with the OIC members and strongly condemned this heinous act of religious hatred. He also assured the OIC representatives that he would do his best in his capacity as the UN Secretary-General to support the global efforts in preventing the recurrence of such anti-religious hatred in future.

Earlier led by Ambassador Muhith, OIC representatives called on the President of the General Assembly Csaba Kőrösi on 14th July and President of the Security Council for the month of July Ambassador Dame Barbara Woodward on 20th July to express the similar concerns.