Qatar, Saudi Arabia summon Sweden's envoys; Muslim-majority nations plan demonstrations to protest Quran desecration

Muslim-majority nations voiced their strong disagreement on Friday over the desecration of a copy of the Quran in Sweden. Outraged over the issue, some countries made preparations for street demonstrations to express their anger following midday prayers. Protesters in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon were planning demonstrations after Swedish police allowed a protest in Stockholm, where an Iraqi Christian defiled the Quran by kicking and standing on it outside the Iraqi Embassy. Prior to this incident, demonstrators in Baghdad had broken into the Swedish Embassy and set fire to it in protest against the individual’s threats to burn the holy book. Qatar has summoned Sweden’s ambassador to hand him a protest note over the desecration of the Quran in Stockholm, the Gulf country’s Foreign Ministry said. In a statement early on Friday, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said it would demand Swedish authorities take “all the necessary measures to stop these shameful acts.” Saudi Arabia also summoned the Swedish charge d’affaires in Riyadh and handed a note of protest over the desecration of the Quran, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Iraqi Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani has ordered the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador from Iraq and the withdrawal of the Iraqi charge d’affaires from Sweden. But that may not be enough to calm those angered, and another protest in Baghdad is planned for Friday afternoon. In neighbouring Iran, demonstrators also planned to take to the streets. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has written a letter to the United Nations secretary-general over the Quran desecration and has summoned the Swedish ambassador. “We consider the Swedish government responsible for the outcome of provocation reactions from the world’s Muslims,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said. The man in Stockholm also wiped his feet with a picture of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during his demonstration and did similar to a photo of Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a powerful leader there. Lebanon’s Shiite militant group Hezbollah also called for a demonstration Friday afternoon. Khamenei and Iran’s theocracy serve as Hezbollah’s main sponsor. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a video address Thursday night called on Muslims to demand their governments expel Sweden’s ambassadors. “I invite brothers and sisters in all neighborhoods and villages to attend all mosques, carrying their Qurans and sit in them, calling on the state to take a stance toward Sweden," Nasrallah said in the address, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency. On Friday “the whole world must see how we embrace our Quran, and the whole world must see how we protect our Quran with our blood.” Saudi Arabia and Qatar, two Sunni-ruled Gulf Arab nations, summoned Swedish diplomats to condemn the desecration. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry also criticized it. In Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the events in Sweden. He called on the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation to play a “historic role in expressing the sentiments of Muslims and stopping this demonization.” Meanwhile, Islamists in his country have been pushing Sharif, who faces an upcoming election, to cut diplomatic ties with Sweden. On Thursday morning, protesters in Baghdad occupied the Swedish Embassy for several hours and set a small fire. The embassy staff had been evacuated a day earlier. After protesters left the embassy, diplomats closed it to visitors without specifying when it would reopen. Prime Minister Sudani said in a statement that Iraqi authorities would prosecute those responsible for starting the fire and referred to an investigation of “negligent security officials.” Some demonstrators stayed at the site, ignored by police, after the attack. An Associated Press photographer and two Reuters staff members were arrested while covering the protest and released several hours later without charges. This is the second Quran desecration to involve the Iraqi Christian in Sweden, identified as Salwan Momika. Last month, a man identified by local media and on his social media as Momika burned a Quran outside a Stockholm mosque during the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, triggering widespread condemnation in the Islamic world. The right to hold public demonstrations is protected by the constitution in Sweden. Blasphemy laws were abandoned in the 1970s. Police generally give permission based on whether they believe a public gathering can be held without major disruptions or safety risks. For Muslims, the burning of the Quran represents a desecration of their religion’s holy text. Quran burnings in the past have sparked protests across the Muslim world, some turning violent. In Afghanistan, the Taliban suspended all the activities of Swedish organizations in the country in response to the recent Quran burning. A similar protest by a far-right activist was held outside Turkey’s Embassy earlier this year, complicating Sweden’s efforts to persuade Turkey to let it join NATO. In June, protesters who support al-Sadr stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad over the Quran burning. With inputs from agencies.