Desecration of the Quran: Sweden repatriates its embassy from Iraq, shows off the Muslim world

Demonstrators took to the streets in Iraq, Iran and Lebanon on Friday to denounce Sweden’s permission to hold rallies to desecrate the Koran as Stockholm repatriated its embassy staff to Baghdad.

At the call of influential Iraqi religious leader Muqtada Sadr, hundreds of people demonstrated in Baghdad after Friday prayers, as well as in the city of An-Nasiriyah and in Najaf, chanting “No, no Sweden”, “Yes, yes to the Koran.”

The Swedish Foreign Ministry has announced that it has temporarily relocated operations and personnel from its embassy to Baghdad, which was burned the day before by supporters of Muqtada Sadr.

In Tehran, hundreds of protesters waving Iranian flags and copies of the Koran chanted “Down with the US, Britain, Israel and Sweden” and some set fire to the blue and yellow Swedish flag.

In Lebanon, the army has stepped up security at the Swedish embassy in Beirut. And hundreds more gathered in front of mosques in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, and in other cities.

In Baghdad, protected from the scorching sun by a sea of ​​umbrellas, worshipers gathered on an avenue in the impoverished district of Madinet Sadr chanted “Yes, yes to Islam,” “Yes, yes to Iraq,” waving copies of the Koran and portraits of Muqtad Sadr.

“Two weights, two measures”

The protesters set fire to the rainbow flags, which Muqtada Sadr saw as a way to anger Westerners and denounce the “double standards” that he says consist of protecting LGBT+ minorities but allowing the Quran to be desecrated.

“Through this demonstration, we want to send our voice to the UN to punish any desecration of the sacred books of Islam, Christianity, Judaism: they are all sacred books,” insists Amer Shemal, an official in the municipality of Madinet Sadr.

Stockholm was the scene of two desecrations of the Koran, at the end of June and again on July 20, organized by an Iraqi refugee. On Thursday, he trampled and tore a copy of the book to pieces, but did not set fire to it.

The Swedish police authorized these rallies in the name of freedom of assembly, saying that this does not mean their approval.

Crisis between Sweden and Iraq

These initiatives provoked a diplomatic crisis between Sweden and Iraq, which on Thursday decided to expel the Swedish ambassador. Also twice, supporters of Muqtada Sadr invaded the Swedish embassy in Baghdad, which was set on fire on Thursday.

“The activities of the embassy and its foreign staff have been temporarily transferred to Stockholm for security reasons,” Swedish diplomats said, ensuring the continuation of the “dialogue” with the Iraqi authorities.

British diplomacy condemned in a press release the “burning and desecration of the Koran in Stockholm”, regarding it as “deeply offensive (…) and completely inappropriate actions. Saudi Arabia and Iran, two regional heavyweights, as well as Jordan summoned representatives of the Swedish diplomatic missions in their countries.

A follower of the strikes, Iraqi Muqtada Sadr has demonstrated on several occasions his ability to mobilize thousands of demonstrators in his country. In the summer of 2022, his supporters broke into the Baghdad parliament and staged a sit-in. Muqtada Sadr was then in the midst of a confrontation with the opposition political camp over the appointment of a prime minister.

A personal meeting turned into bloody clashes in the heart of Baghdad with the army and the former pro-Iranian militias of Khachda al-Chaabi.