ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran’s foreign ministry on Thursday summoned the Swedish ambassador to Tehran over the desecration of a copy of the Holy Quran by an Iraqi refugee in Stockholm last month.
The Swedish diplomat was summoned by Spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry Nasser Kanaani, who conveyed Tehran’s strong protest over the “repeated” sacrilege of the Islamic Holy book and held Sweden’s government responsible for the “consequences of inciting the feelings of Muslims around the world.”
"Continuing to desecrate Islamic holy places and spreading hatred in this way is considered a perfect example of organized violence and a hostile action against the world's two billion Muslim population, God-believing people and followers of the heavenly religions," state media cited Kanaani as saying.
Hundreds of Iraqi protestors, linked to influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, stormed and set fire to the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in the early hours of Thursday, in response to the Swedish police a day prior approving an assembly outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm where protesters plan to burn the Quran and the Iraqi flag.
In June, Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee, burned a copy of the Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm while Muslims were celebrating Eid al-Adha. He was recently granted the green light by Swedish authorities to organize a similar assembly outside the Iraqi embassy on Thursday, sparking strong reactions across the Muslim world.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Thursday ordered the withdrawal of Iraq’s charge d’affaires from Stockholm and expelled Sweden’s ambassador to Baghdad, in reaction to Sweden authorizing the controversial assemblies.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Department of Foreign Relations subsequently said in a statement it condemns the "desecration" of the Quran in Stockholm and was also suspending its mission in Sweden.
As per the Iraqi constitution, the Region must follow the federal government’s foreign policy.
Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and his Iranian counterpart Hussein Amir-Abdollahian denounced Momika’s actions during a phone call on Thursday, according to IRNA, describing the incident as “disrespect to rationale and freedom of expression,” while condemning the Swedish government for allowing the protest.
The Iraqi foreign ministry on Thursday called on the Islamic Cooperation Organization to hold an emergency meeting over the repeated disrespect to the Islamic holy book.
