Sindh PA condemns desecration of Holy Quran in Norway

The Sindh Assembly on Wednesday adopt a condemnation resolution against torching of Holy Quran in Norway, as lawmakers asked the nation to boycott the Norwegian products and services in response to profanity against Islam.

Legislators, who unanimously voted to the resolution to deplore Norway for its lack of respect to Islam, also urged the Pakistan government to expel the Norwegian diplomatic mission from the country. The house also paid tribute to Omar Ilyas for stepping up to stop the burning of Holy Quran and called him 'our hero'.

The resolution, which primarily tabled by the MMA's Syed Abdul Rasheed in the house, became a joint move with the support extended by all sitting parliamentary parties to condemn the Norway government. "I wholeheartedly show sympathy with the Islamic World and those dishonoured the Holy Quran in Norway are condemnable," a minority female legislator of MQM, Mangla Sharma expressed her views on the floor of the house.

Lady legislator, Sarwat Fatima of the TLP said that "Muslims are being hurt in the name of freedom of expression," adding that the West suffers from Islamphobia. She also saluted Omar Ilyas for 'valour'.

Syed Abdul Rasheed said, "I appeal to the nation to boycott Norwegian goods and the government should expel Norway's diplomat". PTI's Saeed Ullah Afridi condemned the profanity against Islam, saying that the world's nations should step up legislation to end such incident in the future. He said that the burning of Holy Quran is feared to damage the interfaith harmony worldwide.

Sindh Religious Affairs Minister, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said that "we condemn the Norway government" for letting the Holy Quran burning event take place, saying that "Omar Ilyas is our hero".

The resolution declared: "Desecration of the Holy Quran has hurt the feelings of Muslims worldwide and is a conspiracy to undermine religious harmony. The federal government should show a strong protest to the Norway government on this sad incident and let the human rights and other global organisations know about the damaged feelings of Muslims."