The United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s foreign ministry has summoned the Swedish charge d’affaires to protest against the repeated attacks and abuses on copies of the Quran in Sweden, the official news agency WAM reported Friday.

The ministry strongly condemned the Swedish authorities’ decision to continue to allow such acts to happen and rejected the use of freedom of expression as justification for such “heinous acts.”

The ministry stressed the need to respect religious symbols and avoid incitement and polarisation at a time when the international community should uphold the universal principles of tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

On Thursday, an Iraqi refugee, who burned a copy of the Quran last month, stomped on the holy book during a demonstration in Stockholm.