The Government of Maldives on Sunday strongly condemned the 'abhorrent act of desecration of the Holy Quran' in Sweden.

The Quran burning was carried out by Rasmus Paludan, leader of Danish far-right political party Hard Line. In April last year, Paludan’s announcement of a Quran burning “tour” during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan sparked riots across Sweden.

Surrounded by police, Paludan set fire to the holy book with a lighter following a long diatribe of almost an hour, in which he attacked Islam and immigration in Sweden. About 100 people gathered nearby for a peaceful counter-demonstration.

"Despite the progress made in building bridges of understanding and social cohesion, such acts of Islamophobia undermines all efforts to uphold the values of tolerance and coexistence, only serving to exacerbate hatred and extremism in our societies," a statement by the Foreign Ministry read.

Several Arab countries – including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait – also denounced the Quran-burning.

“Saudi Arabia calls for spreading the values of dialogue, tolerance, and coexistence, and rejects hatred and extremism,” the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement.