A day after an ex-Muslim Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika residing in Sweden lit several pages of the Quran on fire in front of a mosque in Stockholm, hundreds of Moqtada Sadr’s followers broke into the Swedish embassy in Baghdad. Moqtada Sadr is a firebrand Iraqi Shiite cleric. After about 15 minutes of heated protests, the gathering of Muslims started to disperse as tight security was put in place. The Quran was burnt in Sweden on June 28. The violent attack on the Swedish embassy in Baghdad took place on June 29.
The protesting Muslims’ pamphlets had the phrase, “Our constitution is the Quran.” “Yes, yes to the Quran,” was another statement spray-painted on the embassy compound’s gate.
The protesters initially gathered outside the embassy in reaction to al-Sadr’s call for the Swedish ambassador to be expelled, which echoed fury in other Muslim nations over the Quran’s blazing in Stockholm on Wednesday.
After the influential cleric said this would be “the best way to provoke” people who support Quran burnings, Al-Sadr’s followers also set fire to rainbow flags that stand for LGBT people.
The foreign ministry of Stockholm stated that it was “well informed about the situation” in a statement. Sweden cleared that all its diplomatic personnel in Iraq are secure.
On June 28, a few pages of the Quran were lit on fire in front of Stockholm’s largest mosque by Salwan Momika, 37, who escaped from Iraq to Sweden some years ago. In accordance with the right to free expression, the police had given him special permission for the protest after a court struck down a police order prohibiting such protests. According to the foreign ministry of Iraq, such actions would simply “inflame” the sentiments of Muslims all over the world.
Salwan Momika said late on Thursday that he will repeat the protest in spite of the opposition. He said, “Within 10 days I will burn the Iraqi flag and the Quran in front of Iraq’s embassy in Stockholm.”
The Swedish Quran burning episode, which occurred at the same time as the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha and the conclusion of the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, was followed by outrage throughout the Middle East and beyond.