July 21, 2023
Iraq expels Swedish ambassador following Quran desecration again
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Iraq Thursday expelled the Swedish ambassador only hours after Iraqi protesters angered by the desecration of the Quran stormed the Swedish embassy in central Baghdad, scaling the walls of the compound and setting it on fire.
Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee in Sweden Thursday kicked and partially damaged the Quran but did not burn. Stockholm police spokesman Mats Eriksson confirmed that police had granted permission for a demonstration involving two people outside the Iraqi Embassy in Stockholm on Thursday.
The Iraqi prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, recalled his country’s charge d’affaires in Sweden and suspended the working permit of Swedish telecom company Ericsson on Iraqi soil.
Early on Thursday morning, demonstrators at the embassy waved flags and signs showing the influential Iraqi Shia religious and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr.
The burning of the embassy was called by supporters of Iraqi Shia religious and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr to protest against the second planned burning of a Quran in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm on Thursday.
Salwan Momika, an Iraqi Christian immigrant, last month burned a Quran outside a Stockholm mosque during the Eid al-Adha, triggering widespread condemnation in the Islamic world.
Saudi Arabia, Iran summon Swedish diplomats
Saudi Arabia and Iran have summoned Swedish diplomats to denounce Stockholm’s permission for protests that desecrate the Holy Quran on free speech grounds.
The governments of several Muslim countries, including Iraq, Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Morocco issued protests about the incident, with Iraq seeking the man’s extradition to face trial in the country.
Saudi Arabia said it would hand the Swedish charge d’affaires “a protest note that includes the kingdom’s request to the Swedish authorities to take all immediate and necessary measures to stop these disgraceful acts”, according to a foreign ministry statement.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said Sweden’s ambassador to Tehran had been called in to censure the permit granted to Momika’s protest and to warn Stockholm of the consequences of such actions.
“We strongly condemn the repeated desecration of the Holy Quran and Islamic sanctities in Sweden and hold the Swedish government fully responsible for the consequences of inciting the feelings of Muslims around the world,” Kanani said.
Iranian authorities have called for nationwide demonstrations to be held after Friday prayers to denounce the “desecration of the Holy Quran,” according to the state broadcaster.
Tehran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a letter addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres asked him “to immediately condemn this action and take the necessary measures as soon as possible in order to prevent the recurrence of such insulting and provocative action,” the foreign ministry said.
On Thursday, the 57-member OIC denounced the Stockholm protest as “another provocative attack” that could not be justified under the right to freedom of expression.
Crime against humanity
Turkiye’s foreign ministry called on Sweden to take “dissuasive measures to prevent hate crimes against Islam and its billions of followers”. Türkiye strongly condemned the recent desecration of the Quran near the Iraqi Embassy in Stockholm, as it called on Sweden to take preventive measures against such hate crimes, a statement by the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
In a statement, the ministry said it strongly condemns the "vile attack" against the Quran. Referring to a recent resolution passed by the U.N. Human Rights Council, the ministry said such acts amount to religious hate crimes. The ministry said it expects Sweden to take deterrent measures to prevent such hate crimes in line with its international responsibilities.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's chief advisor Akif Çağatay Kılıç also strongly condemned the desecration of Quran in Sweden, calling it a "crime against humanity."
In Lebanon, the leader of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement Hassan Nasrallah called for the expulsion of the Swedish envoy there and the recall of Lebanon’s ambassador to Sweden. “It’s the minimum required,” he said.
Similarly, Pakistan had also strongly condemned the “despicable act” of the desecration of the Holy Quran.
The Foreign Office had stated that such intentional incitement to discrimination, hatred, and violence cannot be justified under the pretext of freedom of expression and protest. “Under international law, states are duty-bound to prohibit any advocacy of religious hatred, leading to the incitement of violence,” it stated. The FO had urged the international community and the national governments to undertake “credible and concrete measures to prevent the rising incidents of xenophobia, Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred”.
Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Editor -in-Chief of the Journal of America: www.journalofamerica.net. email: asghazali2011@gmail.com
Daily Sabah – July 20, 2023
Turkish court issues arrest warrant for Paludan over Quran burning
A court in Türkiye's capital Ankara issued an arrest warrant for far-right Danish politician Rasmus Paludan, who burnt a copy of the Quran in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm back in January and amid repeated attacks on the Muslim holy book.
The incident, which took place on Jan. 21, sparked outrage and condemnation across the Islamic world.
The investigation launched by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against Paludan on the charge of "publicly insulting the religious values" is ongoing.
As part of the investigation, the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office requested Paludan's arrest to obtain his testimony regarding the Quran-burning incident.
Upon evaluating the request, the Ankara 8th Criminal Court of Peace issued an arrest warrant for the Danish politician.
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The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
