Swedish embassy in Iraq attacked and vandalised

• Case of Quran burning in Sweden with Court’s permission

• Islamic countries condemn the Quran burning incident

Baghdad (Iraq) – On 28th June, a person named Salwan Momika burned the Quran outside the central mosque in Stockholm, capital of Sweden, with Court’s permission. Enraged by this, Muslims in Baghdad attacked the Swedish embassy. They broke into the embassy and vandalised it. Some broke down the entrance of the embassy, while others climbed the embassy walls. The attack was carried out by Shia leader Moqtada Sadr and his followers for about 15 minutes. When the soldiers reached there, they dispersed. A large number of Iraqi security forces have been deployed to protect the embassy. Regarding the incident of the attack, Sweden’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that all its diplomatic personnel are secure.

A protest was held before this attack. The protesters demanded Swedish ambassador to be expelled. Pamphlets were also distributed by them. Salwan Momika is an Iraqi citizen. A few years ago, he escaped from Iraq and took refuge in Sweden.

Islamic countries outraged

1. The incident of burning Quran is being condemned by Islamic countries all over the world. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iraq said that this incident has provoked the religious sentiments of Muslims around the world.

2. “Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)”, an organisation of Islamic countries, has said that an emergency meeting will be held to discuss the situation after the incident.

3. Morocco withdrew its ambassador to Sweden in protest over the incident.

4. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has condemned this incident and said, “allowing anti-Islamic actions under the guise of freedom of expression is unacceptable.”

5. Pakistan’s foreign ministry issued a statement saying that, “actions promoting discrimination, hatred and violence under the guise of freedom of expression cannot be justified.” (It is equally true that Pakistan always behaves like Mahatma Gandhi’s three monkeys about attacks on Hindu temples in Pakistan ! – Editor)

6. Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Palestine have also opposed this incident.

Editorial Viewpoint

When the Quran is burned in Sweden, Muslims around the world unite. In India, scriptures like ‘Manusmriti’, ‘Ramcharitmanas’ are commonly burnt but Hindus-by-birth do not even register a simple protest, this is shameful !