Tag: islamphobia

  • ‘Deeply disrespectful act’: Swedish PM condemns desecration of Holy Quran

    Swedish Prime Minister (PM) Ulf Kristersson has condemned the abhorrent act of desecration of the Holy Quran in Stockholm.

    On Saturday, far-right politician Rasmus Paludan set fire to a copy of the Holy Quran in front of the Turkish embassy.

    PM Kristersson reacted to the abhorrent incident, tweeting: “Freedom of expression is a fundamental part of democracy. But what is legal is not necessarily appropriate. Burning books that are holy to many is a deeply disrespectful act.”

    “I want to express my sympathy for all Muslims who are offended by what has happened in Stockholm,” he said.

    Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif has also condemned the incident.

    In a tweet, the Premier said: “No words are enough to adequately condemn the abhorrable act of desecration of the Holy Quran by a right-wing extremist in Sweden.”

    Shehbaz emphasised that “the garb of freedom of expression” was used to hurt the religious sentiments of the 1.5 billion Muslims across the world, calling the act “unacceptable”.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan also condemned the incident as he highlighted the steps his government took against Islamophobia.

  • Canadian cafe denies accusation of Islamophobia made by Shaam Idrees, Froggy

    YouTubers Sham Idrees and Queen Froggy took to social media to call out Canadian cafe chain Demetres for not serving them because of their faith and promoting Islamophobic behaviour. The cafe has denied the allegations, claiming that the argument was over seating restrictions.

    Idrees shared a video detailing the incident and wrote in the video: “We just had the worst experience of our lives. The racist servers told us they will not serve ‘people of your kind’. My wife and family members included hijabis.”

    “I am so heartbroken,” Queen Froggy shared a video with the caption, “Demetres Oakville didn’t take our order and told us to leave because we are Muslim and wear hijab.”

    “I am so disgusted. Go to Google Maps, click review and give 1 star [to Demetres] and write #Banislamophobia. Let’s make sure it never happens to anyone again!” she added.

    Demetres denied the accusations and released a statement. “We believe there was a misunderstanding between employees and our guests regarding seating arrangements due to Covid-19 restrictions,” they wrote. “The situation became escalated, and the guests were asked to leave.”

    Kanwal Ahmed, founder of the well-known Facebook group Soul Sisters Pakistan, shared a few posts including the posts from the customers who were present when the incident happened.

    A few posts stated that the YouTubers came with 22 people and wanted to combine the tables, which were against Covid-19 guidelines.

    Idrees responded to the criticism and shared another video about the incident “with proof”.