Iran calls for the expulsion of Swedish ambassadors from Arab countries for burning the Koran

The leader of Lebanon’s Shiite party-militia Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, called on Thursday for all Arab and Islamic countries to follow the example of Iraq and expel the Swedish ambassadors of their territories for a new authorization to burn a copy of the Qur’an in Stockholm. Nasrallah described the Iraqi decision as “brave, wise and excellent”.

The call for the third permitted burning of the Koran in a few months has put Sweden on the brink of a break with Iraq in between violent protests in Baghdad and the expulsion of the Nordic ambassador from the capital of Iraq. The controversy was sparked less than a day after followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr attacked and burned the Swedish embassy in Baghdad, after which the Stockholm government accused Iraq of “allowing” the attackers.

The origin of the conflict

The trigger for Islamic anger at the Nordic country, which is still awaiting Turkish ratification for NATO membership, was a call made by Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi refugee, announcing public burning of the Koran in Stockholm, as well as the flag of the country of origin. in front of the Iraqi embassy. In June, he carried out a similar action in front of a large mosque in the Swedish capital.

Even then, it caused protests from the Islamic world, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who reinforced his thesis that Sweden accepts refugees. enemies of Islam. Momiko’s actions followed the pattern set a few months ago by the well-known Swedish-Danish neo-Nazi agitator Rasmus Paludan, who carried out successive Islamophobic actions.

The Swedish constitution protects these actions according to the rule of freedom of expressionso although conservative Ulf Kristersson’s government condemned each of these demonstrations, it claimed that You can’t stop an act like this..

Response to provocations

Iran’s foreign minister, Hosein Amirabdolahian, sent a letter to the United Nations condemning these acts they violate Islamic religious sentiments and they are “an abuse of freedom of expression”.

Amirabdolahian called on the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, to “immediately” condemn these actions and “take the necessary measures as soon as possible” not only to prevent the recurrence of these events, but also to stop ” dangerous consequences» what this “offensive and provoked phenomenon” could entail.

“I ask the member states of the United Nations to deal strictly with the leaders and perpetrators of this act,” reads a letter from a representative of Iranian diplomacy, who uses the opportunity to accuse the Swedish authorities of allowing marches in which copies of the Koran are burned.

Minister Amirabdolahian warned that allowing this type of demonstration “will bring irreparable consequences, including the spread of hatred, violence and xenophobia in different societies». “It is an insult to all Muslims,” ​​he added.

Saudi Arabia, the country that houses the holiest sites for more than 1.3 billion Muslims planet, expressed his “strong condemnation and condemnation of the repeated and irresponsible granting of official permits by the Swedish authorities authorizing them to burn and desecrate copies of the Holy Qur’an.” The country decided to summon the Swedish chargé d’affaires, while Qatar and Iran did the same with the Swedish ambassador, the respective foreign ministries reported.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), based in the Saudi port city of Jeddah and made up of 57 member states, also expressed its “deep disappointment with the repeated permission of the Swedish authorities, despite the terrible consequences of the vile act of desecration.”

For its part, the United Nations has expressed concern over the burning of the Koran and the attack on the Swedish embassy. After a meeting between the secretary-general and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Guterres expressed his determination to “combat religious hatred” and expressed solidarity with Muslims.