INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
TEHRAN - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has stated that Muslim countries have a responsibility to vigorously stand against the desecration
of Islamic sanctities, particularly the Holy Quran while felicitating his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Eid
al-Adha.Friday’s phone call between Tebboune and Raisi also covered prospects for improving ties between the two nations.The presidents of
Iran and Algeria discussed strategies for developing ties in a variety of areas.Raisi emphasized the Iranian government’s commitment to
forging connections with friendly and similarly-minded Islamic nations, and expressed optimism that relations with Algeria, particularly in
commercial and economic spheres, will deepen given the enormous shared capacities.The Algerian president also wished the Iranian government
and people a happy Eid al-Adha.Tebboune further stressed the significance of upholding the Islamic identity and expressed his nation’s
desire to strengthen relations with Iran in all spheres.Addressing the Friday prayer event in the city of Rafsanjan, in the southeastern
province of Kerman, Raisi also noted that the Muslim world will never forget the recent desecration against the Quran in Sweden.Raisi
averred that “the most valuable divine book” has just been degraded in a Western society that purports to safeguard free expression.The
action has enraged not just two billion Muslims, but also adherents of other divine religions, he pointed out. “An insult to our beloved
Quran is an insult to all divine religions, humanity and all divine values, which the Islamic society will not tolerate,” the Iranian
president added. Raisi said that young people need to understand how arrogantly individuals who ostensibly support freedom of expression
allowed a blasphemous deed against Muslim sanctities. “They are lying and do not support freedom of expression and opinion
They oppose freedom and seek to impose their despotism in the form of freedom of expression on humanity,” he highlighted.The Quran is a
symbol of freedom that teaches mankind, according to Raisi, but those who defame the sacred are opposed to freedom of expression.Nasser
Kanaani, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, strongly condemned on Thursday the Swedish government’s approval of the
recurrence of such sacrilegious crimes by Islamophobes living in Sweden who had previously insulted the holy book on several times.In order
to denounce the blasphemous act, many Iranians and college students gathered in front of the Swedish embassy in Tehran on Friday, calling
for respect for the sanctities of heavenly religions.
