Iraq
An Iraqi man holds the Koran during a protest in Baghdad's Tahrir Square on July 20, 2023. Photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s foreign ministry on Saturday said it strongly condemns the desecration of its flag and the burning of the Quran in front of the Iraqi embassy in Copenhagen the day earlier. This comes as Iraq has begun severing its diplomatic relations with Sweden where similar incidents took place.
Members of a Danish ultranationalist group, Danske Patrioter, reportedly stomped on the Iraqi flag and burned a copy of the Quran in front of the Iraqi embassy in Copenhagen. This act angered the supporters of the Iraqi powerful cleric Muqtada al-Sadr who clashed with the security forces early Saturday after trying to enter Baghdad’s highly-fortified Green Zone where most of the governmental institutions and foreign missions, including the Danish embassy, are located.
Iraq’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it condemns the “abuse against the Holy Quran and the flag of the Republic of Iraq in front of the Iraqi embassy in Denmark.”
It added that such incidents “cannot be placed in the context of the right to expression and freedom of demonstration."
The Islamic holy book and the Iraqi flag have been desecrated at least twice in Sweden recently, taking the ire of Sadr supporters and the Iraqi government which on Thursday expelled the Swedish ambassador and recalled its charge d’affaires in Stockholm after the Swedish police once again greenlighted a protest for the burning of the Quran and Iraqi flag.
Sweden's Ministry for Foreign Affairs Press Office told Rudaw’s Bizhar Zubair via an email late Friday that they are "in contact with the Iraqi authorities and we are continuing our dialogue.”
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