Muslims strongly condemn new desecration of Qur’an in Sweden
Muslim-majority nations and governments expressed outrage over the second incident of a state-authorized desecration of their holy book in Stockholm, Sweden, in less than a month.
Salwan Momika, a Sweden-based Iraqi refugee who burned a copy of the Qur’an in Stockholm on June 28 under the protection of the Swedish police, stomped and kicked another copy of the Qur’an, but left the protest outside Stockholm’s main mosque without burning the holy book.
Following the announcement, millions of Muslims took to the streets of Iran and other Muslim-majority countries to voice their strong condemnation of the desecration.
In a communiqué issued after the rallies on Friday, the demonstrators called on the Iranian Foreign Ministry to reconsider diplomatic relations with the Swedish government in tandem with other Muslim countries.
Momika’s fellow Iraqi citizens, who were angered the most, even stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad early Thursday, overran the diplomatic compound, and started a small fire. The embassy staff had been evacuated a day earlier in anticipation of the strong response.
Hours later, Iraq’s prime minister cut diplomatic ties with Sweden in protest over the desecration of the Islamic holy book, Press TV reported.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry also summoned the Swedish ambassador to Tehran and conveyed the Islamic Republic’s vehement condemnation of the heinous act.
Following repeated desecration of the Holy Qur’an in Sweden, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian wrote to Antonio Guterres on Thursday, urging the UN secretary-general to take a hard line on such acts of religious sacrilege.
Amir-Abdollahian reminded the UN chief that Momika’s previous act of sacrilege had caused “serious harm” to the sentiments of Muslims and other followers of divine religions across the world. “The shock and concern about such insulting actions are on the rise,” the foreign minister added.
Iran strongly denounces the Swedish authorities’ issuance of their approval for the provocative act, the letter went on.
In a telephone conversation on Thursday, Amir-Abdollahian and his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein strongly condemned the desecration of the Holy Qur’an in Sweden, calling for an urgent meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to discuss the
matter.
The two diplomats described the defiling of the Qur’an as an insult to rationality and freedom of speech and condemned the irresponsible behavior of the Swedish government.