Anti-Muslim Group Desecrates Quran, Iraqi Flag in Denmark

By Staff, Agencies

An anti-Muslim group desecrated the Quran in Denmark's capital Copenhagen on Friday, as Muslims expressed outrage about a similar incident in Sweden and called on authorities to prevent such hateful acts from repeating.

The ultranationalist group called “Danske Patrioter” burned the holy book in front of Iraq's Embassy in Copenhagen.

They also carried a banner with insulting slogans against Islam, before stamping on the Iraqi flag and a copy of the Quran under police protection, as seen in the videos they shared on social media.

The group said they did this to “protest” the attack against Sweden's Embassy in Baghdad.

Early Thursday morning, a crowd of Iraqis stormed Sweden's Embassy in Baghdad and set a small part of it ablaze in protest against the burning of a copy of the Quran, Islam's holy book, by Salwan Momika, an Iraq-born refugee who now lives in Sweden.

Thousands of people took to the streets in several Muslim-majority countries Friday to express their outrage at the desecration of a copy of the Quran in Sweden.

The protests in Iraq, Lebanon and Iran that followed weekly prayers were controlled and peaceful, in contrast to scenes in Baghdad on Thursday, when demonstrators occupied the Swedish Embassy compound for several hours and set a small fire.

The embassy staff had been evacuated before the storming, and the Swedish news agency TT reported that they were relocated to Stockholm for security reasons.

For Muslims, any desecration of the Quran, their holy text, is abhorrent.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani had called on protesters and security forces to ensure that the demonstrations remained peaceful.

In the southern suburbs of Beirut, thousands more gathered at a protest, brandishing copies of the holy book and chanting “with our blood, we protect the Quran.” Some burned Swedish flags.

Hezbollah Secreatry General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a video address Thursday night called on Muslims to demand their governments expel Sweden’s ambassadors. Iraq cut diplomatic ties with Sweden earlier that day.

“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,” Sayyed Nasrallah said in the address, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.

In Iran, thousands marched in Tehran and other cities across the country, demonstrations that were aired on state television. In the capital, protesters gathered in the city center, shouting: “Death to the Americanized Sweden! Death to ‘Israel’! Death to enemies of the supreme leader!”

“The Quran talks to humans all the time, and its voice will never be stopped,” protester Fatemeh Jafari said. “Until the end of the world, the Quran will stay there and will be usable. They can never destroy the Quran! Even if they burn it, we will stand by it!”

The demonstrations come after Swedish police permitted a "protest" Thursday in which an Iraqi of Christian origin living in Stockholm – now a self-described atheist – threatened to burn a copy of the Quran. In the end, the man kicked and stood on the holy book outside of the Iraqi Embassy. He gave similar treatment to an Iraqi flag and to photos of Sayyed Sadr and of Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei.

The right to hold public demonstrations and 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.

Sudani, the Iraqi prime minister, ordered the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador and the withdrawal of the Iraqi charge d’affaires from Sweden.

Leaders in several Muslim-majority countries condemned the desecration of the Quran and summoned diplomats from Sweden to express their outrage. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian wrote a letter to the United Nations secretary-general, while Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation [OIC] to play a “historic role in expressing the sentiments of Muslims and stopping this demonization.”