Protests at the Swedish embassy. / Photo: AFP.
Leaders and rulers of various Arab and Muslim countries charged this Thursday against the Swedish authorities for authorizing a demonstration around a mosque in Stockholm, in which an Iraqi living in the European country burned a copy of the Koran, the Islam’s holy book, warning that it could inflame Muslims around the world. the largest mosque in Stockholm.
Police granted him permission to hold the protest, out of respect for the right to free expression, although the act sparked anger throughout the Muslim world.
The incident occurred as Muslims commemorate Aid al Ada, the festival of sacrifice.
Dozens of Iraqi demonstrators managed to briefly enter the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in protest.
The demonstrators, supporters of Iraqi Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr, stayed for approximately 15 minutes at the Swedish embassy and left peacefully when security forces arrived.
Moqtada Sadr, as well as the Iraqi government, of which the leader Not a religious party, they strongly condemned Salwan Momika’s gesture.
During the protest in front of the embassy, protesters distributed handouts reading in English and Arabic Our Constitution is the Koran. Our leader, Al Sadr, reported the AFP news agency.
Salwan Momika’s gesture drew condemnation in many Muslim-majority countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Iran, Syria and Turkey.*100018 *
Muslim protests. / Photo: Telam Archive.
The Iraqi government, in a statement released last night, strongly condemned the repeated acts of burning copies of the holy Quran by individuals with extremist and disturbed minds.
These actions demonstrate a spirit of hatred and aggressiveness against the principles of freedom of expression, he noted, adding: They are not only racist, but they promote violence and hate.
Saudi Arabia, which has just welcomed 1.8 million pilgrims for hajj in Mecca , which concluded on Wednesday, said that these heinous and repeated acts cannot be accepted with any justification.
The Secretary General of the Arab League, Ahmed Abul Gheit, said in a statement that he condemns in the strongest terms that the Swedish authorities give permission for the burning of a copy of the sacred text of Islam at the hands of extremists on the first day of Eid al Adha, according to statements by his spokesman Yamal Rushdi.
In this way, he stressed that it is the responsibility of governments not to incite extremism or tolerate those who promote hateful ideas and Islamophobia and he urged firm confrontation with these trends, before adding that insulting the beliefs of others is not part of freedom of expression , as stated in a statement published on the agency’s website.
The statement was published after criticism from Turkey and Morocco regarding the event.
Thus, the Turkish Foreign Minister , Hakan Fidan, described what happened as despicable, while Rabat recalled its ambassador indefinitely after condemning the incident.
In Lebanon, the powerful Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement accused Swedish authorities of complicity with the event.
Egypt expresses its deep concern about the repeated incidents of burning copies of the Koran and the increase in Islamophobia and insults to religion in some European countries and shows its direct rejection of all practices that affect the religious beliefs of Muslims, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said, Europa Press news agency reported.
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry joined the wave of criticism, saying that the The incident is racist and a manifestation of Islamophobia that incites violence.
Likewise, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Naser Kanani, called the Swedish government’s decision provocative and unacceptable and stressed that it paved the way for the desecration of a sacred object, especially at a time that coincides with holy days for the ‘umma’ (Muslim community).
Finally, the Taliban made it known that they condemn the event in the strongest terms, that they blamed a liberal extremist, as well as the Swedish authorities’ decision to allow and protect the act under the pretext of freedom of expression.
The Taliban, who managed to return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 called on all Muslim states and organizations, and particularly the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to take all appropriate measures in response to these acts of hate around the world.
In January, a Danish-Swedish right-wing extremist burned a copy of the Koran near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, also angering Muslims around the world.
