The Maldives is scheduled to participate in an extraordinary open-ended meeting of the executive committee of the Organisation for Islamic Corporation (OIC) over the recent burning of the Holy Quran in Sweden.
The Representative of the Maldives to the OIC Mohamed Khaleel will be attending the extraordinary meeting at the organisation's main headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The purpose of the meeting is for member states to engage in discussions regarding the incident and determine the necessary actions to be taken. They will also deliberate on the content of a statement that will be issued at the conclusion of the meeting, expressing the collective stance of the OIC.
The Maldives has strongly condemned the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden carried out by an individual named Salwan Momika, coinciding with the holy day of Eid-al-Adha. In a statement, the Maldives stated that the recurrence of the deeply despicable and disrespectful act hurts the religious sentiments of millions of Muslims across the world, and simply cannot be justified on the grounds of freedom of speech and expression. The statement noted that these appalling acts of Islamophobia undermine the collective endeavours to uphold the principles of tolerance and coexistence and that the Maldives reiterates its call to end such abhorrent acts against Islam.