(Baghdad) Demonstrators briefly entered the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday in protest after an Iraqi burned pages from a copy of the Koran in Stockholm, an act condemned by many Muslim countries.
The few dozen supporters of the Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr stayed about a quarter of an hour in the diplomatic representation and came out calmly when the police arrived, according to an AFP photographer.
The demonstrators had first protested in front of the embassy, at the call of Moqtada Sadr who demanded the “dismissal of the ambassador” after the action of Salwan Momika, previously authorized by the authorities of this country.
PHOTO AHMED SAAD, REUTERS
The demonstrators had first protested in front of the Swedish Embassy, responding to the call of Moqtada Sadr who demanded the “dismissal of the ambassador” after the action of the Iraqi Salwan Momika.
On Wednesday, Salwan Momika trampled on a copy of the Koran before burning several pages in front of the largest mosque in Stockholm, on the first day of Eid al-Adha, the great festival of sacrifice celebrated by Muslims around the world.
Thursday, the Iraqi declared that he would renew his gesture within ten days.
“Within ten days, I will burn the Iraqi flag and the Koran in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm,” Salwan Momika, 37, who fled his country for Sweden, told the Swedish daily. Expressen.
He said he was aware of the impact of his gesture and had already received “thousands of death threats”.
Similar actions have in the past taken place in Sweden or in other European countries, sometimes at the initiative of far-right movements, leading to demonstrations and diplomatic tensions.
As of Wednesday evening, the Iraqi government condemned “racist acts, inciting violence and hatred”. On Thursday evening, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry announced that it had summoned the Swedish ambassador to Baghdad Jessica Svärdström to “inform her of the strong protest” of Iraq concerning the authorization given by her country to “extremists” of burn the Quran.
The United States said it was “deeply concerned” by Salwan Momika’s gesture which “has created a climate of fear that will prevent Muslims and members of other religious minorities from freely exercising their right to freedom of religion” by Sweden, while approving the fact that the demonstration has been authorized.
“The issuance of a permit for this protest supports free speech and does not constitute an endorsement of protest actions,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
“Hate acts”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also lambasted Sweden on Thursday for allowing the event. “We will teach arrogant Westerners that insulting Muslims is not a matter of free speech,” he said.
Saudi Arabia has denounced “hateful and repeated acts […] inciting hatred, exclusion and racism, while Kuwait called for the perpetrators of such “hostile acts” to be brought to justice.
A “heinous crime” and “a flagrant and deliberate provocation”, also denounced the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In Tehran, the head of Iranian diplomacy Hossein Amir-Abdollahian “strongly condemned the insult to the holy books and the Koran”.
“Calling these behaviors freedom and democracy only encourages terrorism and extremism,” he said.
Morocco recalled its ambassador to Sweden, condemning “repetitive provocations, committed under the complacent gaze of the Swedish government”.
The UAE has summoned Sweden’s ambassador to Abu Dhabi to “condemn Sweden’s decision to allow extremists to burn copies” of the Quran.
Egypt, the most populous of the Arab countries, blasted a “shameful gesture and a provocation for the feelings of Muslims”.
“Silence” from Sweden
Libya expressed its “astonishment at the silence of the Swedish authorities in the face of these frequent provocations”, while Syria “condemned in the strongest terms the shameful act” committed “by an extremist with the permission […] of the Swedish government. »
“Insulting religions is incompatible with religious freedom,” the Bahraini Foreign Ministry said.
In Beirut, the powerful Shiite Hezbollah movement accused the Swedish authorities of being “accomplices in the crime”.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced a “flagrant violation of the […] values of tolerance, acceptance of others”.
Organizations in the region also reacted, such as the Arab League which condemned an “aggression at the heart of our Muslim faith”.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has announced that it will hold an “emergency meeting” next week in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to “discuss measures against these despicable acts”.
In Kabul, the Taliban government has denounced a “total contempt” for Islam.
A demonstration in January in which a copy of the Koran was burned in Stockholm in front of the Turkish embassy sparked anger across the Muslim world and protests and calls for a boycott of Swedish products.