Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: A mob of protesters, angered by the burning of copies of The Quran in Sweden on June 28, stormed and set on fire the Swedish embassy in the Iraqi capital on Thursday morning, the media reported.
All embassy staff were safe, the Swedish foreign ministry press office said in a statement, condemning the attack and highlighting the need for Iraqi authorities to protect diplomatic missions.
Iraq’s foreign ministry also strongly condemned the attack.
A large number of fire-fighters tried to douse the fire by spraying water even as the protesters scaled the walls of the compound of the Swedish embassy in Central Baghdad and set afire to different parts of the building.
Early on Thursday, demonstrators at the embassy waved flags and signs showing the influential Iraqi Shia religious and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr, according to TV news channel Al Jazeera.
“The Iraqi government has instructed the competent security authorities to conduct an urgent investigation and take the necessary security measures in order to uncover the circumstances of the incident and identify the perpetrators of this act and hold them accountable according to the law,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
In another statement, however, the government said it would sever diplomatic ties with Sweden if another similar burning takes place in the North European nation.
“The Iraqi government has informed the Swedish government through diplomatic channels that any recurrence of the incident involving the burning of the Holy Quran on Swedish soil would necessitate severing diplomatic relations,” the statement from the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office said.
Security forces were deployed inside the embassy and smoke rose from the building as fire-fighters extinguished stubborn embers, the media reported.
Protesters also vowed to continue protesting “if any more burnings of the Quran happen. They are prepared to “take matters into their own hands” if the Iraqi government does not dismiss the Swedish diplomatic mission immediately.
This demonstration was called by supporters of Sadr to protest the second planned burning of a Quran in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm on Thursday.
“We are mobilized today to denounce the burning of the Qur’an, which is all about love and faith,” protester Hassan Ahmed told the media at the embassy.
“We demand that the Swedish government and the Iraqi government stop this type of initiative,” he said.
The June 28 Qur’an burning incident in front of the largest mosque in Stockholm to mark the Eid ul Adha festival was organized by 37-year-old Salwan Momika, a pro-Iran Christian militia chief from Iraq who became a refugee in Iraq.
Again, he threatened to organize another incident on Thursday (July 20), prompting the protesters to storm and burn the Swedish embassy in Baghdad.
According to the media reports, Momika was now a member of a Swedish ultra-nationalist party. Old video footage from Iraq showed him wearing the uniform of an Iraqi militia with close links to Iran – a militia accused of war crimes. He burned the Qur’an on June 28 just a few months after his application for citizenship was denied.
Momika immigrated to Sweden in April 2018. Three years later, in April 2021, he received refugee status and a three-year residency permit, until April 2024.
Shortly after his arrival in Sweden, Momika forged links with the Swedish Democrats, a right-wing, ultra-nationalist group, hoping to eventually apply for citizenship.
The governments of several Muslim countries, including Iraq, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Morocco protested the incident, with Iraq seeking the man’s extradition to face trial in the country.
On July 12, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution against religious hatred, with support from India, China, and other countries.