Government officials in several Muslim-majority nations summoned Swedish ambassadors to their countries, while people in some of those countries took to the streets Friday to protest against a controversial demonstration in Stockholm a day earlier where a person kicked and stomped on the Quran.
Supporters of the former paramilitary group Hashd al-Shaabi hold a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader ... [+]
The Iraqi government ordered the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador to the country on Thursday—hours after the Swedish Embassy compound was stormed by angry protestors—and recalled its own charge d’affaires from Stockholm.
The Foreign Ministry of Turkey—which had earlier threatened to block Sweden’s ascension to NATO over an earlier Quran-burning incident—condemned the “vile attack targeting our holy book” and said it expects Sweden to act against this “hate crime against…Islam and its billions of believers.”
Saudi Arabia summoned Sweden’s top diplomat in the country and criticized the “repeated and irresponsible actions” of Swedish authorities, accusing them of granting permits to authorize the desecration of the religious book “in an act that is a systematic provocation…of millions of Muslims around the world.”
Iran also summoned the Swedish ambassador to the country and warned that the Swedish Government will be “fully responsible for the consequences of provoking the sentiments of world Muslims.”
The Lebanon-based pro-Iranian militant group Hezbollah called on other countries to follow Iraq's example by expelling Swedish diplomats from their countries.
Aside from diplomatic condemnations, protests against the desecration of the religious texts broke out in the streets of Lebanon following midday prayers on Friday, according to the Associated Press.
On Thursday, an Iraqi refugee residing in Sweden, Salwan Momika, organized a demonstration outside the Iraqi Embassy with permission from the Swedish Police. It was reported that he planned to burn a copy of the Quran during the protest, but instead, he stomped on the religious book instead. Last month, during Eid celebrations, Momika set fire to a copy of the Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm. Momika’s controversial actions are protected by Sweden’s free speech laws, but the incident has triggered debate, with some arguing that such actions should be classified as hate speech.
Protestors Angered By Quran Burning Storm Swedish Embassy Compound In Baghdad (Forbes)