RIYADH - Saudi Arabia has condemned and denounced on Monday the deliberate abuse of the Holy Quran, provocations, and incitement against Muslims by some extremists in Sweden.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the Kingdom stresses the importance of concerted efforts to spread the values of dialogue.

Saudi Arabia has also stressed the necessity to spread tolerance, coexistence, renounce hatred, extremism, and exclusion, and prevent abuse of all religions and holy sites.

It is noteworthy that the southern Sweden has witnessed severe violence on the sidelines of a rally by the anti-immigration and anti-Islam movement led by Danish-Swedish citizen Rasmus Paludan who announced the intention to burn copies of the Holy Quran.

Paludan is currently touring Sweden and targeting neighborhoods with a large Muslim community.

Thursday, disturbances broke out in late afternoon in Linköping, leaving three police officers wounded.

Paludan has provoked other incidents on several occasions in recent years.

In November 2020, he was arrested in France and then deported. Five other activists were arrested in Belgium shortly afterwards, accused of wanting to "spread hatred" by burning a Qur’an in Brussels. SG