The Maldives has supported the call of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to take unified and collective measures to prevent the recurrence of incidents of desecration of copies of the Holy Quran. The decision was made at the extraordinary meeting of the OIC executive committee.
The Representative of the Maldives to the OIC Mohamed Khaleel participated in the extraordinary meeting, during which the member states deliberated on appropriate measures to be taken in response to the incident regarding an individual burning a copy of the Holy Quran in front of the Central Mosque in the Swedish capital of Stockholm on the first day of Eid al-Adha. The executive committee meeting was held at the invitation of Saudi Arabia, the current Chair of the Islamic Summit, and the Executive Committee of the OIC.
The final communique from the meeting reaffirms the commitment of OIC member states to promote universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It condemns acts of violence, discrimination, and intolerance, particularly Islamophobia, and emphasises the importance of dialogue, cooperation, and tolerance among religions and civilizations. The communique calls for action to protect Islamic symbols and sanctities, urges governments to implement legal measures against hate and violence based on religion, and requests the Secretary-General to strengthen the fight against Islamophobia. It also highlights upcoming meetings and conferences to address these issues and calls for reporting on the implementation of the communique.
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.