Egypt summons Danish ambassador over Quran burning

CAIRO, July 27 (Xinhua) 

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry summoned Denmark's ambassador on Thursday to strongly protest the recent incidents of burning copies of the Quran in the Scandinavian country.

"The recurrence of these unfortunate incidents, which have nothing to do with freedom of expression, constitutes a clear violation of religious beliefs and practices," the ministry said in a statement.

 The recent burning of copies of the Quran outside several embassies, including the Egyptian embassy in Copenhagen, "supports extremism, hate speeches, Islamophobia, and contempt of religions," it added.

Egypt called on the concerned authorities in Denmark and other countries that have witnessed similar incidents to take concrete measures "to stop such unfortunate incidents completely."

Similar incidents in Sweden earlier have sparked outrage among Muslim nations and led to the storming of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad and the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador from Iraq.

On Tuesday, Egypt also summoned the Swedish charge d'affaires and expressed to him the country's "denunciation and categorical rejection" of the burning and desecration of the Quran in Sweden.

The recurrent burning of the Quran has sparked fury and criticism from Muslim-majority countries across the world.

The governments of Denmark and Sweden have as well condemned the incidents as provocative, shameful, and Islamophobic acts conducted by several individuals who do not represent their governments.