Setting fire to bibles or Korans and burning down places of worship is "an offence against God" and the faithful, Italy's foreign minister Antonio Tajani said in Berlin on Monday during a world religions meeting.
"It's easy to be violent against a book, to burn pages, but you don't realize what violence and offence this gesture can cause towards other people," Tajani said.
''When we witness violence against Christian churches, synagogues or mosques, destroyed or burned because other believers destroy them, we witness an offence against God," he underlined.
"I think that unfortunately, humans have always forgotten that God doesn't like it if they fight in his name, hate and kill each other in his name."
Governments and religious authorities must foster interfaith dialogue, use positive language and avoid inciting violence," Tajani said.
Tajani was attending 'The Audacity of Peace' conference organised by Italy's Catholic Community of Saint Egidio charity from Sunday to Tuesday.
