Sweden is under fire by Iraq after an Iraqi man was captured on video burning a copy of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, during a protest authorized by law enforcement.
Iraqi officials have called the incident "racist" and "irresponsible," which was done under a heavy police presence. The man who burned the holy book was identified as 37-year-old Salwan Momika, who fled to Sweden several years ago.
Sweden Condemned After Iraqi Man Burns Quran
On Wednesday, Momika stomped on the Quran before holding it up and burning a few pages of the book before Stockholm's largest mosque. Law enforcement personnel granted the man a permit for the protest in line with free-speech protections.
However, police later said it had already opened up an investigation into the Quran burning, which sparked anger in the Muslim community. The incident happened as religious worshippers celebrated the Eid al-Adha holiday.
Late Wednesday, the Iraqi government issued a statement that strongly condemned the "repeated acts of burning copies of the holy Quran by individuals with extremist and disturbed minds," as per Alarabiya News.
The statement wrote that the vile acts demonstrated what officials called a hateful and aggressive spirit against the principles of freedom of expression. The Iraqi government added that the move was not only racist but also promoted hatred and violence.
The government added that such irresponsible actions directly conflicted with the values of respect for diversity and the beliefs of others. Furthermore, Morocco has criticized the burning of the holy book and decided to recall its ambassador to Stockholm late on Wednesday.
In a statement, Morocco said that the burning of the Quran was a new offensive and said that it was an irresponsible act that disregarded the feelings of more than a billion Muslims worldwide. It added that the act was done during a sacred time of the great pilgrimage to Mecca and the blessed feast of Eid al-Adha.
Protesters Gather Outside Swedish Embassy in Baghdad
The situation has become worse as dozens of people stormed the compound of the Swedish embassy in the capital of Iraq, Baghdad. The crowd gathered outside the embassy on Thursday after a powerful cleric called for an "angry protest" in response to the burning of the holy book in Sweden, according to BBC.
#Iraq #Sweden : Protesters briefly broke into compound of Swedish embassy in #Baghdad over burning of Qu’ran in Stockholm yesterday #يحدث_الان #العراق #السويد https://t.co/JUI2uduZyy
— sebastian usher (@sebusher) June 29, 2023
Some have posted video footage on various platforms showing the protesters walking inside the embassy courtyard. A photographer at the demonstration scene noted that the crowd briefly entered the building and stayed there for roughly 15 minutes before fleeing after local security forces were deployed to control the protest.
A few people at the protest set fire to a rainbow-colored flag representing the LGBTQ community. Many others were seen holding the Quran and portraits of al-Sadr and chanted, "Yes, yes to the Quran."
Swedish police said that despite the foreign policy consequences, the security risks and consequences related to the burning of a copy of the Quran were not enough to be used as a basis to reject the application for the protest on Wednesday, said Aljazeera.
