Kuwait responds to Qur’ān burning by gifting 100,000 copies to Sweden

On Wednesday, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution that seeks to curb “acts and advocacy of religious hatred”, following repeated instances of the Qur’ān being burnt in Sweden. As expected, the US, EU, and other Western states had expressed strong opposition to the Pakistan-led motion. Nevertheless, it comfortably passed 28-12 (with seven abstentions). [1]

Contents

Repeated inflammatory acts of hatred Model response converting anger into positivity Promoting Islam on the world stage Being unapologetic in our faith Also read

While anger at the individuals — including politicians and judges — responsible for facilitating the desecration of the Qur’ān is appreciated and understood, it must be firmly stated that absolutely no attempts at belittling or seeking to damage the Word of Allah can achieve even an inkling of success.

Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) states in the Qur’ān,

“It is certainly We Who have revealed the Reminder, and it is certainly We Who will preserve it.” [2]

Dhaka, Bangladesh: Muslims march in protest after Friday prayers, to call out Sweden for its inaction in regards to multiple Qur’ān burning incidents, 07 July 2023. Editorial credit: Sk Hasan Ali / shutterstock.com

Repeated inflammatory acts of hatred

In 2023, the Scandinavian nation of Sweden has already witnessed a number of recent incidences wherein the Qur’ān has been desecrated.

In late January — during the peak period of diplomatic manoeuvring by Sweden and Turkey in regards to the former’s NATO accession attempts on account of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — the hate preacher Rasmus Paludan was held responsible for burning a copy of the Qur’ān in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. [3]

Of note, it was later revealed that Paludan’s protest permit was paid for by a pro-Russia journalist, Chang Frick, who was previously a contributor at state broadcaster RT. [4]

Model response converting anger into positivity

Amongst the global tidal wave of infuriation at the Swedish government and judiciary’s repeated failures to prevent Qur’ān burning demonstrations, there has been one standout response that has to be applauded.

This week, the Kuwaiti Prime Minister, Ahmad Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, announced that the country would print and ship a staggering 100,000 translated copies of the Qur’ān to Sweden, with the desire to…

“…affirm the tolerance of the Islamic religion and promote values of coexistence among all human beings.” [5]

With the Nordic state’s approximate population of 10.29 million, that is roughly equivalent to a copy per 100 people. [6]

Promoting Islam on the world stage

As regards Sweden’s progress towards entering into NATO, recently re-elected Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been granted major concessions in the form of the resumption of Swedish arms sales to Turkey, amendments to the Swedish constitution, on top of beefing up Sweden’s counterterrorism operations against the PKK terrorist group. [1]

At the same time, Turkey has been one of the most outspoken countries when the recent Qur’ān burning incidents have taken place. Indeed, immediately after last month’s demonstration, a statement aptly described them as “…vile protests against the holy book”. [1]

Being unapologetic in our faith

Just as the Turkish government has been confidently seeking out concessions from international partners while proudly defending Islam, we, as Muslim individuals and communities, must also take lessons from this approach.

There will always be enemies of Islam and Muslims, but if we are able to respond to heinous incidents such as that of Qur’ān desecration in a manner that imbues maturity, this will play a key part in maintaining the upper hand, in defusing tensions, and encouraging people towards Islam.

We ought to remember the blessing of Islam that we live, day in, day out. And so, when the enemies of Islam and Muslims instigate such acts of hatred, we must be mindful that the world is sitting, waiting to pounce if we respond in a thoughtless way.

In the same breath, it is vital to recognise that our honour is in Islam — to turn our backs on it will surely be our downfall.

Tāriq ibn Shihāb reported that Umar ibn al-Khattab (radiy Allāhu ‘anhu) said,

“We were the most humiliated people on Earth and Allah gave us honour through Islam.

“If we ever seek honour through anything else, Allah will humiliate us again.” [7]