The Islamophobia Monitoring Observatory at Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta condemned, in a news statement, the burning of a copy of Quran in the southern Sweden city of Malmo.
The Observatory described the burning as an “act of incitement and provocation” for all Muslims worldwide and “contradicts with global efforts to combat extremism, Islamophobia and faith-based hate speech.”
In the statement, the Observatory mentioned that according to a report issued by Pew Research Center in 2017, the rate of Islamophobia and hate crimes committed against Muslims, representing 8.1% of Sweden’s population, are increasing.
"Islamophobia has doubled in the recent period in an exaggerated manner, due to the distorted image presented in Western media, and which is exported about Muslims. Islamophobia is increasing in the real and virtual space, especially as a noticeable increase in the percentage of Islamophobic incidents online has been seen," Dr. Ibrahim Negm, Mufti’s Advisor stated in a recent press interview.
The Observatory welcomed the measures taken by the Swedish authorities against those who burned the copy of Quran and called on the Muslim community in Sweden “to exercise restraint and avoid violence”.

7/9/2020