Tensions rise in Iraq: Hundreds of Sadr supporters join protest rally
While reactions to the recent burning of the Quran in Sweden have been on the rise, tension in the region has risen following the raid on the Swedish Embassy in Iraq after Swedish police approved the burning of the Quran in the capital Stockholm the previous day.
Hundreds of people affiliated with the leader of the Sadr Movement, Muqtada es-Sadr, held Friday prayers in the Sadr region of Baghdad.
Photo: Reuters
The crowd gathered after the prayer, carrying the Quran, and reacted to the actions against the Quran in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.
Sadr supporters also set fire to LGBT flags during the demonstration.
After the Friday prayers in the cities of southern Iraq, the aforementioned flags were burned and there was a protest against the Swedish administration.
AMBASSADOR OF SWEDEN LEFT THE COUNTRY
Pro-Sadr protesters approached the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad yesterday to protest actions against the Koran and set fire to parts of the embassy building.
The Iraqi government asked Swedish ambassador Jessica Svardstrom to leave the country and summoned the Swedish charge d’affaires for Iraq to the country.
Photo: Reuters
The Iraqi Information and Communications Agency reported that Ericsson had canceled its license due to anti-Koran actions in Sweden.
Salwan Momika, of Iraqi origin, burned the Koran under police protection in front of the Stockholm Mosque on the first day of Eid al-Adha. Apart from Islamic countries, especially Turkey, some countries, including Russia, reacted to the incident.
Momika had taken the Holy Quran and the Iraqi flag under police protection outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm yesterday.
THE ACTION WAS ORGANIZED IN IRAN
The attack on the Holy Quran in Sweden was protested by thousands of people in many cities in Iran after Friday prayers.
After the Friday prayer at the Imam Khomeini Friday Mosque in the capital Tehran, many people marched with Quran and banners in their hands.
The protesters chanted slogans such as “Down with the United States”, “Down with Israel”, “Down with Sweden” and “Muslim silence is a betrayal of the Koran”.
At the end of the march, a statement was read on behalf of the protesters. In the statement, it was stated that Muslims should react with one voice to this lack of respect and that diplomatic institutions should cut all relations with Sweden.
In the statement, which emphasized that the second disrespect of the Koran in the Swedish capital Stockholm was strongly condemned, a call was made for Islamic countries to boycott Swedish products.
Apart from Tehran, protests were held in Mashhad, Kum, Shiraz, Simnan, Gulistan and South Khorasan after Friday prayers. (AA)