Al-Azhar has denounced the tearing up and burning of the Holy Qur’an by a Norwegian, calling on Europe to respect the sacred things of Muslims and put an end to this criminal behaviour. The al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism said, in a statement, that the occurrence of such extremist acts in full view of the police is a clear indication of their tacit approval of those crimes.

The statement stressed that these behaviours are inconsistent with all international norms and laws and are rejected by all religions. The statement, which was published in Egyptian newspapers, warned of the increase in hatred among members of the same community, considering the incidents of burning and tearing the Holy Qur’an in Norway and Sweden as an apparent provocation to about two billion Muslims around the world.

The observatory demanded that severe penalties be imposed to prevent the possibility of such acts occurring in the future, which represents a grave threat to peaceful societies because of the hatred, racism, and terror that Europe suffered during the Middle Ages.

The Pakistani government summoned the Norwegian ambassador to express its concern over the incident of burning a copy of the Holy Qur’an at a demonstration by an extremist right-wing group.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation also condemned the burning of a copy of the Noble Qur’an in the Swedish city of Malmö, a few days ago, and considered it an “inflammatory and provocative act.”