The United Nations said hate speech was on the rise everywhere after the UN Human Rights Council held a debate Tuesday to address recent Quran-burning incidents.
The events appear to be tailor-made to inflame anger and divide communities, UN human rights chief Volker Turk said as he opened the debate in Geneva.
A Quran was burned outside the Swedish capital's main mosque on June 28, triggering diplomatic backlash across the Muslim world.
Pakistan and other nations called for discussion about "the alarming rise in premeditated and public acts of religious hatred as manifested by recurrent desecration of the Holy Quran in some European and other countries."
Pakistan and other members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation hope a resolution will be passed on the issue on Tuesday or later in the week.
Turk said recent Quran-burning incidents "appear to have been manufactured to express contempt and inflame anger, to drive wedges between people and to provoke, transforming differences of perspective into hatred and perhaps, violence."
He said that irrespective of the law or personal beliefs "people need to act with respect for others."
"Speech and inflammatory acts against Muslims, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and actions and speech that target Christians or minority groups such as Ahmadis, Baha'is or Yazidis are manifestations of utter disrespect. They are offensive, irresponsible and wrong," said Turk.
He called for combatting hate speech with dialogue, education, awareness raising and inter-faith engagement.
"Powered by the tidal forces of social media and in a context of increasing international and national discord and polarization, hate speech of every kind is rising, everywhere," Turk said.
"It is harmful to individuals, and it damages the social cohesion necessary to the sound functioning of all societies," he added.
Salwan Momika, 37, who fled from Iraq to Sweden several years ago, stomped on the Muslim holy book and set several pages of it on fire in Stockholm.
His act coincided with the Eid al-Adha holiday.
The Geneva-based Human Rights Council meets for three regular sessions per year and is currently in the second session, which runs until Friday.
The Swedish government condemned the Quran burning as "Islamophobic," but added that Sweden had a "constitutionally-protected right to freedom of assembly, expression and demonstration."
The events appear to be tailor-made to inflame anger and divide communities, UN human rights chief Volker Turk said as he opened the debate in Geneva.
A Quran was...