Archbishop of Vienna: Freedom of speech is far from insulting the Prophet and burning the Quran

Cardinal Christoph Schönbrunn, Archbishop of Vienna, condemned the burning of the Holy Quran in Sweden and denied the possibility that freedom of expression was a justification for this aggressive act.

Christoph Schonbrunn told Al-Sharq Al-Awsat: “Insulting the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and daring to burn copies of the Holy Quran are not considered freedom of speech, and such actions are rejected.”

Emphasizing that he “prays for peace every day,” Schönbrunn added: “In the past nineties, Christ was insulted through a cartoon, and I objected to it, but some journalists were surprised and objected that this is freedom of expression, but my answer was that I do not allow insulting any of the mothers of humanity Like Maryam (PBUH).”

“No one has the right to insult Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) or any respected person who has followers,” Schönbrunn added.

The Archbishop of Vienna stated that the issue of avoiding the clash of civilizations requires an initial and critical step with the centrality of knowing “our civilization and the civilization of others” and stated: “The big problem we are facing today is that there are many who They don’t know their own civilization, and this causes them to not know the civilization of others, so strengthening education is an inevitable necessity.”

He continued: “Young people and children in schools need to learn more about their civilizations and religions and the civilizations and religions of others, but unfortunately, knowledge of Islam in our region is scarce. Therefore, providing positive and quality education to these children and youth is essential. Of course, the opposite of this issue is also true.”