Sweden Quran Burning: Protesters Storm Embassy in Baghdad

Muqtada al-Sadr, a prominent Shia cleric in Iraq, who also called for the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador in Baghdad, was the one who ordered the protests in the country’s capital.

Social media videos have gone viral showing some protesters scaling a barricaded wall in front of the embassy. Unknown how far they made it inside the structure before leaving.

Sweden claimed its employees were secure. “We are knowledgeable about the circumstances. The press office for the Swedish foreign ministry wrote, “Our Embassy staff are safe, and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is in regular contact with them.

Confirmed by an Iraqi security source that the incident was over. The protesters reportedly spent about 15 minutes inside the compound, according to the AFP news agency.

More About The – Sweden Quran Burning incident and Protesters Storm Embassy in Baghdad

Following an incident on Wednesday in Stockholm, Sweden, where a man set fire to a copy of Islam’s holy book outside a mosque, protests broke out in Baghdad. Images from the demonstration, which took place on the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Adha, one of the most important in the Islamic calendar, showed that he was the only person present besides his translator.

Ad Feedback Salwan Momika, who organized the one-man Quran protest in Stockholm, immigrated to Sweden from Iraq five years ago. Al Sadr demanded that the government revoke his Iraqi nationality.

“The believers must express their views on the burning of the holy books… through massive, enraged protests against the Swedish embassy in Iraq,” Al Sadr said. “If freedom of speech is guaranteed to Iraq and the world.”

The Quran’s burning in Stockholm was condemned by Muslim nations and Islamic organizations. The act was described as “provocative” by Iran and as a “dangerous provocatory step” by Kuwait.

The event was strongly denounced by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation [OIC], Arab League, and Gulf Cooperation Council.

Wednesday saw Morocco recall its ambassador to Sweden, which was swiftly denounced by both Iraq and Saudi Arabia. 

Iraqi protesters and security personnel engaged in a physical altercation outside the Swedish embassy in early January of this year over a separate Quran-burning incident in Stockholm.