He also called for adhering to the contents of United Nations resolutions, which call for exerting efforts globally to promote tolerance, peace and dialogue among civilizations, the latest of which is the resolution entitled “Promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance in countering hate speech”, which was unanimously adopted by the United Nations General Assembly a few days ago. “We must build on the draft resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council in its emergency session aimed at countering religious hatred, which constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence,” by enacting laws that criminalize insulting religious symbols and sanctities, Safadi said. He pointed out that the Swedish government has begun a review of the law governing public order in light of the repeated attempts to insult the Holy Quran, and said, “We believe that this is a step in the right track, which must end with a decision that prohibits insulting the holy Quran and religious symbols, in order to counter the culture of hatred and its racist promoters.” He added that this would be a contribution to promoting a culture of respect for others and a culture of peace. Safadi commended proposals submitted by Iraq’s Foreign Minister, Fouad Hussein, who called for the emergency meeting, and lauded them as “practical steps” that can be taken collectively in order to address the crimes of burning copies of the Holy Quran and insulting it, and enacting international legislation and laws that criminalize such acts and prevent their recurrence. He noted that “Jerusalem is on the meeting agenda today, and it is always at the forefront of our priorities. We must stress the need for our solidarity and joint actions to protect the occupied city and its holy sites from attempts to change its Arab, Islamic and Christian identity, because protecting Jerusalem and its holy sites is a common responsibility for all of us.”
Source: Jordan News Agency