BAGHDAD, Jul 1 (NNN-NINA) – Hundreds of Iraqis rallied yesterday, in the capital Baghdad, to protest against the burning of the Muslim holy book, the Quran in Sweden.
The angry protesters, the majority of whom were followers of Shiite cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, gathered in the Salhiyah neighbourhood, where the Swedish embassy is located, just outside the heavily-fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad.
“Burning the Quran is considered an incitement to violence against those who believe in Islam,” said a statement by al-Sadr, read by his representative, Mahmoud al-Jayashi, at the rally.
“Since you criminalise the burning of the gay flag, why don’t you consider the burning of the Quran a major crime?” al-Sadr asked the Swedish authorities, in the statement.
Earlier in the day, Iraqi forces tightened their security measures by cordoning off the Swedish embassy and closing all roads leading to the building with concrete barriers.
The measures came, after dozens of Iraqi protesters stormed, on Thursday afternoon, the Swedish embassy in Baghdad, following a call for an “angry demonstration” by al-Sadr, according to Iraqi media reports.
Also yesterday, Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ahmed al-Sahaf, said in a statement that, Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, had requested an emergency high-level session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, to discuss measures related to insulting the Quran.
On Thursday, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry summoned the Swedish ambassador over the Quran burning.
The ministry voiced its strong protest against the Swedish government’s permission for such an act, calling on the Swedish government, to take the necessary measures to stop the repeated insults to the Quran, according to a ministry statement.
