China calls on Sweden to respect religious beliefs

"Freedom of speech cannot be a reason to incite racial or cultural discrimination and tear society apart," said Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, referring to the incident that triggered widespread condemnation across the Muslim world.

"We hope Sweden can earnestly respect the religious beliefs of minority groups including Muslims," Wang said, according to the Chinese daily Global Times.

Iran and many other Muslim countries have condemned Sweden for letting the Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the far-right Stram Kurs (Hard Line) group, insult the holy Quran under the protection of Swedish police.