Egypt´s Ambassador Amr Ramadan: I am against all Defamation of Religions

Ambassador Amr Ramadan (Photo Credits: Sahar Zargar)

We have asked the Ambassador of Egypt to Norway, H.E. Amr Ramadan, for his comments regarding the burning of the Quran that is happening repeatedly in Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

«Governments should re-consider allowing anti-Islam or actually anti-religion rallies in general, to be organized under the pretext of Freedom of Expression. We have seen in the past the repercussion of this policy in leashing tensions among the communities, especially, when these protesters are not aimed at other fellow citizens, but at a holy religion with more than 1.9 billion followers around the globe…. that is 25% of the world population. How can any sensible official or politician allow ripping pages from the Quran in such a disrespectful and provocative scenario?

We should all work together against hate crimes, Xenophobia & Islamophobia, and to improve understanding among followers of the three holy religions of the common values shared by all humankind. More interfaith and intercultural dialogue are needed to overcome existing misperceptions.

What does burning other people’s holy book have to do with Freedom of Expression?! I see that Freedom of Expression for Christians has to do more with burning their own book that they believe in, the Bible, not the holy books of other communities that they probably haven’t even read, don’t understand, nor believe in. After all, I am against all these defamation acts.»