ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Muslims across Pakistan hold anti-Sweden rallies to denounce burning of Islam's holy book

Muslim protestors chant slogans during a rally to denounce burning of Islam's holy book 'Quran', in Peshawar, Pakistan, Friday, July 7, 2023. Muslims rallied in across Pakistan to observe a "Day of the Sanctity of Quran" after the South Asian Islamic nation's prime minister issued a call for anti-Sweden protests over last week's burning of Islamic holy book 'Quran' in Stockholm. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad) Muslim protestors chant slogans during a rally to denounce burning of Islam's holy book 'Quran', in Peshawar, Pakistan, Friday, July 7, 2023. Muslims rallied in across Pakistan to observe a "Day of the Sanctity of Quran" after the South Asian Islamic nation's prime minister issued a call for anti-Sweden protests over last week's burning of Islamic holy book 'Quran' in Stockholm. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)
Share
ISLAMABAD -

Muslims in Pakistan were holding rallies on Friday to observe a "Day of the Sanctity of Quran" after the South Asian Islamic nation's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a call for anti-Sweden protests over last week's burning of the Islamic holy book in Stockholm.

The biggest anti-Sweden rallies were expected in the eastern city of Lahore and in Karachi, the largest city in the country. In the capital, Islamabad, lawyers holding copies of the Quran protested in front of the Supreme Court, while worshippers outside mosques held small rallies, demanding the severing of diplomatic ties with Sweden.

A group of minority Christians in the northwest also held a rally to denounce the burning of the Quran.

Supporters of Pakistan's main radical Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan party are holding rallies in the country's all major cities, including Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, and Quetta to denounce the burning of the Quran.

Anger has grown in Muslim countries since last Wednesday when a man identified in Swedish media as a Christian from Iraq burned the Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm on the festival of Eid al-Adha.

Muslim leaders in Sweden have also deplored the incident. But in his televised speech to lawmakers in the parliament the previous day, Sharif questioned why the police in Sweden let the burning of the Quran go ahead.

On Friday, Sharif took to Twitter, urging his compatriots to send a strong message to Sweden by holding rallies and demonstrating.

"When it comes to the Quran, the nation is one," he wrote. "We will all protest nationwide today under the title of Sanctity of Quran Day and after Friday prayers."

A similar call for protests has also been issued by Imran Khan, the former premier who was replaced by Sharif in April 2022 after his ouster through a motion of no-confidence in the parliament.

However, the followers of Khan, Sharif, and other parties are holding separate rallies across the nation.

Those holding anti-Sweden protests include a radical party, Tehreek-e-Labiak Pakistan (TLP), which has previously held violent rallies to condemn the desecration of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.

TTP wants the boycott of all products from Sweden and the cutting of diplomatic ties until the man responsible for the burning of the Quran is punished. TLP gained prominence in Pakistan's 2018 elections, campaigning on the single issue of defending the country's blasphemy law, which calls for the death penalty for anyone who insults Islam.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.

Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.

Local Spotlight

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.