Swedish embassy in Baghdad stormed by angry demonstrators

Swedish embassy in Baghdad stormed by angry demonstrators

Title: Angry Muslims occupy Swedish embassy in Baghdad after Koran burning

Date: 20.07.2023

Time: 6:59 a.m.

After further Koran burning was announced in Stockholm, angry Muslims in Baghdad occupied the Swedish embassy - and set fire there. The Iraqi government wants to punish those involved.

In Iraq, demonstrators stormed the Swedish embassy in the capital Baghdad. This is supposed to show this videos that are common on the Internet. According to the videos, they waved flags in the early morning and held up signs on which the influential Iraqi Shiite leader Muktada al-Sadr could be seen.

The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that they were informed about the situation and to be in constant contact with the employees on site. "Our employees are safe," said the press office in Stockholm. "We condemn all attacks on diplomats and employees of international organizations." It is the task of protecting Iraqi security forces to protect diplomatic representations. During the nightly tumult, there was little resistance from security forces on videos.

The Iraqi riot police was in use with numerous forces. The incident occurred in front of a protest planned for today in front of the Iraqi embassy in the Swedish capital Stockholm, where a Koran is to be burned.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry condemned the campaign. "The Iraqi government has instructed the responsible security authorities to carry out an urgent examination and take the necessary security measures to clarify the circumstances of the incident," said a statement. The participants should be identified and "said" according to the law ".

Yesterday the Swedish police approved a protest planned for today in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm. As the Swedish news agency TT reported, when registering the demonstration, the organizers had announced that they wanted to burn Iraqi flags and a Koran. According to the report, only two people should take part in the demonstration.

Swedish media reported that the demonstration had organized Iraqi Salwan Momika, which had fled after Sweden. In June, Momika burned a few pages out of the Koran in front of the Great Mosque in Stockholm during a protest campaign and had stepped on the Holy Scripture of Islam. In the Muslim world, the campaign had caused broad outrage. Morocco pulled out his ambassador from Sweden, Saudi Arabia ordered the Swedish ambassador.

In Iraq, there were already broad protests in June. Demonstrators had stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad during the day. On another protest day, thousands demonstrated on the country's streets. At that time, as well, they asked the Iraqi authorities to show Sweden's Iraq ambassador.

The right to public demonstrations is strongly pronounced in Sweden and protected by the constitution. The blasphemy networks were abolished in the 1970s. For Muslims, the burning of the Koran, on the other hand, represents a blasphemic desecration of the sacred text of its religion.

The Shiite al-Sadr is one of the most influential clergymen in the Arab world. Its Islamist movement is made up of millions of predominantly poorer people from urban areas. After a long political crisis, his followers had stormed and occupied the government palace with the office of the prime minister in Baghdad and the parliament building in 2022. After the Koran burning in June, Al-Sadr also called for an "angry protest" in front of the Swedish embassy.