Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church on Monday condemned the burning of copies of the Quran at a NATO military base in Kabul earlier this month.
The church also denounced recent Israeli assaults on Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
A source from Pope Shenouda III's office told state-run news agency MENA that blasphemy is a hideous crime rejected by all believers and that it widens the gap between all faiths, besides igniting sectarian feuds.
The same source said the church objects to US and Israeli occupations of Afghanistan and Palestine and urged the United Nations and international players to immediately bring an end to both since they are the reason for most religious conflicts around the world.
The Quran burning incident prompted wide-scale protests by angry Afghans during which dozens of protesters were killed. US President Barack Obama apologized for the incident on Thursday in a letter to his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai.
