In an official statement on Thursday, Iraq asked the Swedish ambassador to leave its territory, and decided to withdraw his charge d'affaires from Stockholm, in response to the burning of the Koran in the Swedish capital.

 

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Edited by |Alexander Yaxina

 

Middle East  section -  CJ journalist

 

Baghdad- July,20,2023

 

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The statement issued by the Iraqi Prime Minister said that "the prime minister, Mr. Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani, directed the Ministry of foreign affairs to withdraw the Iraqi charge d'affaires from the embassy of the Republic of Iraq in the Swedish capital Stockholm," adding that he also directed "the request of the Swedish ambassador in Baghdad to leave Iraqi territory, in response to the repeated permission of the Swedish government to burn the Koran, abuse Islamic shrines and burn the Iraqi flag.

Witnesses said protesters in Sweden kicked and damaged a book they said was a copy of the Koran in front of the Iraqi Embassy in Stockholm today, but did not burn it as they had previously threatened.

The Swedish Embassy in Baghdad was burned down at dawn on Thursday during a demonstration organized by supporters of leader Muqtada al-Sadr in protest against a planned rally in Stockholm in front of the Iraqi embassy, the organizer of which intends to burn a copy of the Koran, while the Iraqi Foreign Ministry condemned the incident, its Swedish counterpart announced that the staff of its embassy is "safe" and held the Iraqi authorities responsible for protecting diplomatic missions and personnel.

Hours after the start of the demonstration, the security forces dispersed the protesters, and calm returned on Thursday morning to the place and traffic resumed, but the narrow road leading to the embassy was closed, according to an AFP correspondent.

For his part, a source in the Civil Defense and an official in the Iraqi Ministry of Interior told AFP on Thursday morning that he had controlled the fire in the embassy, and the official spoke of recording damage to the building, the size of which is not yet clear.

Riot police using water cannons and electric batons dispersed the protesters and drove them away from the embassy, according to an AFP photographer at the scene, noting that the demonstrators responded in turn by throwing stones at the security forces.

The Swedish Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday that embassy staff in Baghdad were "in a safe place" and later summoned the Iraqi charge d'affaires in Stockholm.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said that "what happened is completely unacceptable and the government condemns these attacks in the strongest terms," adding that "the Iraqi authorities have a clear duty to protect diplomatic missions and personnel under the Vienna agreement.

The Swedish minister said that" it is clear that the Iraqi authorities have seriously failed to shoulder their responsibilities " in protecting his country's embassy.

Iraq, for its part, responded by threatening to"sever diplomatic relations with Sweden" if the Koran is burned again on its territory, according to a statement issued by the Office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani after a meeting with security officials in the country.

The Iraqi Ministry of foreign affairs condemned in a statement "in the strongest terms" the burning of the embassy of Sweden in Baghdad, considering that "this act comes in the context of an attack on diplomatic missions and a threat to their security".

The statement said that"the Iraqi government has instructed the competent security authorities to urgently investigate and take the necessary security measures, in order to uncover the circumstances of the incident and identify the identity of the perpetrators of this act and hold them accountable in accordance with the law.

At the end of the security meeting in Baghdad, the participants expressed their condemnation of the"embassy burning incident", according to the statement of the prime minister, and considered it "a security breach that must be addressed immediately and hold accountable the negligent security officials".

Referring to the burning of the Koran, the government said in its statement that "such provocative actions offend international conventions and norms respecting religions and beliefs".

Supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr had called for the protest before another expected burning of a copy of the Koran in Sweden. The burning of the Koran has previously led to widespread protests and condemnations in Muslim-majority countries.

Some of the demonstrators who gathered around the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad at dawn on Thursday held up Korans, while others held up photos of the late leader Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, the father of Muqtada al-Sadr.

The attack on the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad comes after the Swedish police allowed a small rally to be organized in front of the Iraqi Embassy in Stockholm, where the organizer intends to burn a copy of the Koran and the Iraqi flag, on Thursday.

A protester said that the" Sons of the Sadrist movement " moved after the Iraqi refugee in Sweden Silwan Momika was allowed to burn a copy of the Koran in Sweden again.

Momika, who wants to burn the Koran in Sweden, is an Iraqi refugee there, and, last June, he also burned pages of a copy of the Koran in front of the largest mosque in Stockholm on Eid al-Adha.

This prompted supporters of the Sadrist movement in Iraq to storm the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad on June 29.

On the second of July, the OIC countries called for taking serious measures to criminalize the violation of sacred things such as the Koran, and to ensure that freedom of expression is not a cover for committing crimes that incite hatred and violence, and contradict the internationally agreed human rights decisions.

The secretary-general of the organization, Hussein Taha, stressed that there is a need for an "appropriate response to the despicable act," referring to the burning of a copy of the Koran by a Swedish citizen of Iraqi origin, on the day of Eid al-Adha, celebrated by millions of Muslims.

An extraordinary meeting of the organization was held in Jeddah, called by the Saudi government, as the chairman of the current session, to discuss the response to the Act, which Muslims consider an insult and a provocation, and Western countries consider it within the framework of freedom of expression.

The secretary of the largest Islamic bloc, which includes 57 countries, added that" acts of desecration of the Koran and insulting the Prophet Muhammad and Islamic symbols are not just ordinary incidents (Islamophobia), stressing the need to send a constant reminder to the international community on the "urgent application of international law, which clearly prohibits any call to religious hatred.

It is noteworthy that incidents of burning the Koran are repeated in Sweden, often provoking anger and chaos, and while the Swedish government affirms its condemnation of the burning of copies of the Koran and considers it an "anti-Islamic" act, the Swedish Foreign Ministry announced in a previous statement that "the Swedish government fully understands that anti-Islamic acts committed by individuals during demonstrations in Sweden can be offensive to Muslims. We strongly condemn these actions, which in no way reflect the views of the Swedish government," he said, noting at the same time that freedom of expression is a constitutionally protected right in Sweden.

 

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