UN chief condemns desecration of Quran
Assures OIC delegates that UN would work for promoting inter-faith harmony.
ISLAMABAD:
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the desecration of the Holy Quran by pastors of a Baptist Church in Gainesville, Florida and said that such actions contradict the efforts of the United Nations and cannot be condoned by any religion.
Terming the act ‘unacceptable’, the secretary general assured the OIC Ambassadorial Group which met him in his office on Tuesday, that the UN would continue working towards promoting inter-faith harmony.
The secretary general also discussed issues related to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the Middle East peace process, as well as the evolving situation in the Middle East and North Africa.
Voicing strong condemnation of the burning of the Holy Quran, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon expressed profound regret at the increasing acts of Islamophobia and intolerance.
He expressed concern that the act had severely hurt the feelings of 1.5 billion Muslims around the world.
The ambassador said that such provocative acts provoke dissent and discord among communities and go against the very concept of inter-faith harmony and threaten the multicultural fabric of society.
The OIC ambassadors called for a more active role of the UN towards protecting all the religions.
Terry Jones, the controversial American pastor, oversaw the burning of a copy of the Holy Quran at his Florida church.
Last fall, Jones stoked global alarm with his plan to light a bonfire with the Quran on the anniversary of September 11.
He gave up the move after the Obama administration intervened.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 7th, 2011.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the desecration of the Holy Quran by pastors of a Baptist Church in Gainesville, Florida and said that such actions contradict the efforts of the United Nations and cannot be condoned by any religion.
Terming the act ‘unacceptable’, the secretary general assured the OIC Ambassadorial Group which met him in his office on Tuesday, that the UN would continue working towards promoting inter-faith harmony.
The secretary general also discussed issues related to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the Middle East peace process, as well as the evolving situation in the Middle East and North Africa.
Voicing strong condemnation of the burning of the Holy Quran, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon expressed profound regret at the increasing acts of Islamophobia and intolerance.
He expressed concern that the act had severely hurt the feelings of 1.5 billion Muslims around the world.
The ambassador said that such provocative acts provoke dissent and discord among communities and go against the very concept of inter-faith harmony and threaten the multicultural fabric of society.
The OIC ambassadors called for a more active role of the UN towards protecting all the religions.
Terry Jones, the controversial American pastor, oversaw the burning of a copy of the Holy Quran at his Florida church.
Last fall, Jones stoked global alarm with his plan to light a bonfire with the Quran on the anniversary of September 11.
He gave up the move after the Obama administration intervened.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 7th, 2011.