The autodafe has been condemned by many Muslim countries. In Iraq, protesters briefly entered the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday, June 29, 2023, in protest after an Iraqi burned pages of a copy of the Qur’an in Stockholm, Sweden.
The departure of the Swedish ambassador required
The protesters, supporters of the Iraqi Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr, stayed in the Swedish diplomatic representation for about a quarter of an hour and quietly emerged when the police arrived, according to a photographer from Agence France Presse (AFP).
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 Iraqi Salwan Momika, previously authorized by the Swedish authorities.
An act “inciting violence and hatred”
On Wednesday, Salwan Momika trampled a copy of the Qur’an before burning several pages in front of Stockholm’s largest mosque on the first day of Eid al-Adha, the great feast of sacrifice celebrated by Muslims around the world. Similar actions have taken place in the past in Sweden and other European countries, sometimes at the initiative of far-right movements, leading to demonstrations and diplomatic tensions.
As early as Wednesday night, the Iraqi government condemned “racist acts, inciting violence and hatred” that occur “repeatedly” in countries that “pride themselves in embracing the diversity and respect of the beliefs of others.”
