New protests in Iraq and Iran over derogatory Quran Not the Quran calls for violence, it is fueled by power-hungry mullahs

After an Islamophobic action in Denmark, protesters again took to the streets in Iraq. Hundreds of people gathered at the Danish embassy in the capital Baghdad on Saturday, eyewitnesses said.

Security forces dispersed them with water cannons and prevented them from entering the so-called Green Zone, where several embassies are located. Again, they were mainly supporters of the Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The demonstrators held up pictures of al-Sadr and demanded retaliation.

Copenhagen police confirmed to Danish media that a book was burned near the Iraqi embassy there on Friday afternoon. She left open whether it was a Koran. Footage posted on Facebook by a group called Danske Patrioter (Danish Patriots) shows a man setting fire to a book that looks like a Quran. He then placed an Iraqi flag over the smoking book, but it did not catch fire. He then laid the flag on the ground and walked over it several times.

Previously, contempt for copies of the Koran in Sweden led to protests in Islamic countries. A few days ago, protesters broke into the Swedish embassy in Baghdad and set it on fire. Iraq has expelled the Swedish ambassador from the country.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia spoke of a “systematic provocation against the feelings of millions of Muslims around the world”. Thousands have joined protests in Iran and Lebanon. Criticism also came from Turkey.

Iran demands “severe punishment” for contempt of Quran

Iran’s head of state, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has demanded that the person responsible be extradited after another Quran was defamed in Sweden. “Muslim scholars agree that the perpetrator of this crime should receive the most severe punishment,” the religious leader said in a statement released by his agency on Saturday. Sweden attracts the hatred of the Muslim world.

What exactly is meant by “the most severe punishment”, the 84-year-old does not expressly say. Courageous desecration of the Koran is considered blasphemy in Iran. In extreme cases, the death penalty can be imposed for blasphemy.

On Thursday, for the second time in a few weeks, a native Iraqi denounced a copy of the sacred Islamic scriptures in Stockholm. The action was approved by the police. Criticism of religions falls under freedom of expression in Sweden. However, authorities are now investigating the possible incitement to hatred.

On Friday, thousands took to the streets of Iran following Friday prayers in state-sponsored protests. Protesters also marched in front of the Swedish embassy in the capital Tehran. The Swedish ambassador was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday evening. Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian announced that he would no longer admit a new Swedish ambassador.

(cst/sda/dpa)