BEIRUT, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon announced on Monday to suspend cultural cooperation with Sweden and Denmark in protest against the desecration of the Quran in the two Nordic countries, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.
"The Ministry of Culture suspends all cultural cooperation with Sweden and Denmark and their embassies in Beirut until the two countries' authorities take appropriate measures to correct the incident," the NNA quoted Culture Minister Mohammad Wissam Mortada as saying.
"We expressed our strong condemnation of such offensive practices more than once... the heinous act would not have taken place without official permissions," the minister added.
Denmark and Sweden have been under the spotlight in recent weeks after several extremists repeatedly burned or desecrated the Quran, the Islamic holy book, in the two countries' capitals, which sparked wide criticism from Muslims across the world.
