Protesters gathered outside the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday
Iraqi protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad a mosque that drew condemnation throughout the Muslim world.
A crowd of supporters of the Shia cleric Muqtada Sadr remained inside the complex for about 15 minutes and then left when security forces were deployed.
“Our constitution is this is the Quran,” read the message on the flyers carried by the protesters, while the message sprayed on the gates of the complex read: “Yes, yes to the Quran.”
The protest took place a day after 37-year-old Iraqi citizen Salwan Momika, who lives in Sweden, trampled on the holy book of Islam and set fire to several pages in front of the largest mosque in the capital.
Swedish police granted him the right to permit in line with free speech protections, but authorities later said they were investigating “campaigning”.
Swedish embassy in Iraq. Photo: AHMED SAAD/REUTERS
The burning of the Quran sparked anger in the Middle East and beyond as Muslims celebrated Eid al-Adha and Saudi Arabia's annual pilgrimage to Mecca was drawing to a close.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry condemned Sweden's decision to provide “extremists” are given permission to burn the Koran and are told that such actions “inflame the feelings of Muslims around the world and constitute a dangerous provocation.”
Mr Sadr called for a demonstration in the Swedish embassy to demand the resignation of the ambassador, accusing him that his state is “hostile to Islam.”
Saudi Arabia, which received about 1.8 million Muslim pilgrims for the hajj that ended Wednesday, also condemned the burning of the Koran.
“These hateful and repetitive acts cannot be accepted with any justification,” it said. her ministry of foreign affairs.
A protester desecrated the embassy entrance. Photo: AHMAD AL-RUBAI/AFP
Iran joined in the condemnation, calling the burning of the Koran “provocative, thoughtless and unacceptable.”
“The government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran… do not tolerate such an insult and strongly condemn it,” said Nasser Kanaani, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry.
“The Swedish government is expected to seriously consider the principle of responsibility and accountability in this regard, avoiding the recurrence of insults to sacred places.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also condemned Sweden for allowing the protest, which further darkened the world of the Scandinavian nation. chances of a quick entry into NATO.
“In the end, we will teach arrogant Westerners that insulting Muslims is not freedom of thought,” Erdogan said in a televised address.
“We will show our response in the strongest possible way until a decisive victory over terrorist organizations and Islamophobia is achieved.”
A series of protests in Sweden against Islam and for the rights of the Kurds has increased tensions with Turkey, whose support Stockholm needs to gain entry to NATO.
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