City Archbishop condemns Quran tearing

Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the Archbishop of Mumbai, has condemned the incident on September 11, when an unidentified man reportedly tore pages of the Quran at the site of a proposed mosque in New York.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the Archbishop of Mumbai, has condemned the incident on September 11, when an unidentified man reportedly tore pages of the Quran at the site of a proposed mosque in New York.

HT Image

The incident took place despite the decision of Pastor Terry Jones of Florida's Dove Outreach Centre to cancel his plans to burn the Quran on the anniversary of 9/11.

“I was deeply saddened to learn about the disrespectful act towards the holy Quran,” said a statement from the Archbishop on Monday.

“On behalf of the church in Mumbai and in the country I strongly condemn these insensitive acts which are against the basic tenets of our religion,” he said.

“I share the anguish of my Muslim brothers and sisters on this sad event,” he added.

Other members of the Christian community have also emphasised their solidarity with Muslims as a reaction to the incident.

“This is a heinous act of bigotry,” said Abraham Mathai, general secretary of the All India Christian Council and vice-chairman of the State Minorities Commission.

“We would like the government of United States to initiate criminal action against the perpetrator of such a blasphemous act,” Mathai added.