ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Foreign Minister on Monday vowed to protect diplomatic missions in the country, in a speech during a virtual Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting, less than two weeks after angry protestors set the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on fire.
“Iraq emphasized its commitment to protect the diplomatic missions and protect them,” Fuad Hussein said at an OIC meeting requested by Iraq and Iran to discuss repeated incidents involving the burning of the Quran in Sweden and Denmark.
Hussein’s comments come less than two weeks after Iraqi protesters torched the building of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad following Sweden’s approval for a protest to burn the Holy Quran, under the guise of freedom of expression.
The burning of a copy of the Quran by Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee in Stockholm in late June drew the ire of Muslims around the world. Iraq severed its diplomatic relations with Sweden, while Iran summoned Sweden’s charge d’affaires.
On the same day as the OIC meeting, Momika together with another Iraqi, Salwan Najem, set alight a copy of the Quran once again outside the Swedish parliament.
“Iraq is committed to its democratic approach in its belief in giving its people the opportunity to express freely... in a manner that does not violate this commitment [of protecting diplomatic missions],” Hussein said of the protests that took place in Baghdad which sparked condemnation from Sweden.
In a joint statement following the meeting, the OIC expressed its “grave concern over the increasing incidences of intolerance, discrimination,” calling on Sweden and Denmark to take stronger action against the incidents.
In response to the OIC meeting, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said his government’s position was clearly against “the Islamophobic acts” and that Stockholm remains committed to its cooperation with the member states of the organization.
