Quran desecration
\nMinistry did not immediately reply to a request for further detail
\nBAGHDAD
\nHundred of protestors stormed the Swedish Embassy in central Baghdad in wee hours on Thursday monrning, scaled its walls and started a small fire in protest against the desecration of Quran in Sweden.
\nThe Iraqi government has warned that it will cut diplomatic relations with Sweden if it allows a repeat of last month\u2019s public burning of the Qur\u2019an.
\nIraq\u2019s warning came after hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish embassy.
\nIt had been suggested that there would be a second protest where a copy of the Qur\u2019an would be burnt in Sweden.
\nIt would have come just weeks after Salwan Momika, 37, who fled from Iraq to Sweden several years ago, said he wanted to highlight the importance of freedom of speech when he staged his controversial protest on June 28, setting a copy of the Qur\u2019an alight.
\nAll Baghdad 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.
\nThe Iraqi government later said those responsible for starting the fire at the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad have been referred to judiciary.
\nThursday\u2019s demonstration was called by supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr to protest the second planned Qur\u2019an burning in Sweden in weeks, according to posts in a popular Telegram group linked the influential cleric and other pro-Sadr media.
\nSadr, one of Iraq\u2019s most powerful figures, commands hundreds of thousands of followers whom he has at times called to the streets, including last summer when they occupied Baghdad\u2019s heavily-fortified Green Zone and engaged in deadly clashes.
\nSwedish news agency TT reported on Wednesday that Swedish police granted an application for a public meeting outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm on Thursday.
\nThe application says the applicant seeks to burn the Qur\u2019an and the Iraqi flag, TT reported.
\nA series of videos posted to the Telegram group, One Baghdad, showed people gathering around the embassy around 1 a.m. on Thursday (2200 GMT on Wednesday) chanting pro-Sadr slogans and storming the embassy complex around an hour later.
\nThe videos showed dozens of men climbing over the fence at the complex, with the sound of them trying to break down a front door. Another showed what appeared to be a small fire being set. Other footage showed men, some shirtless in the summer heat, inside what appeared to be a room at the embassy, an alarm audible in the background.
\nOthers later performed predawn prayers outside of the embassy.
\nIraq\u2019s Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the attack.
\n\u201cThe 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,\u201d the Foreign Ministry said.
\nIraqi police and state media did not immediately acknowledge the attack.
\n\u201cWe condemn all attacks on diplomats and staff from international organizations,\u201d the Swedish Foreign Ministry in Stockholm said in a separate statement.
\nThe demonstrations began after a man had planned, under police protection, to burn a copy of the Qur\u2019an and the Torah, the Jewish holy book, outside of the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm. However, the man reportedly had abandoned his plan amid the widespread outrage.
\nThe right to hold public demonstrations is strong in Sweden and protected by the constitution. Blasphemy laws were abandoned in the 1970s.
\nFor Muslims, the burning of the Qur\u2019an represents a blasphemous desecration of their religion\u2019s holy text. Qur\u2019an burnings in the past have sparked protests across the Muslim world, some turning violent. In Afghanistan, the Taliban have suspended all the activities of Swedish organizations in the country in response to the recent Qur\u2019an burning.
\nAn Iraqi Christian immigrant last month burned a Qur\u2019an outside a Stockholm mosque during the major Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha, triggering widespread condemnation in the Islamic world. A similar protest by a far-right activist was held outside Turkiye\u2019s Embassy earlier this year, complicating Sweden\u2019s efforts to convince Turkiye to let it join NATO.
\nIn June, protesters stormed the embassy in Baghdad during daylight hours over that Qur\u2019an burning. Another day of protests saw thousands of demonstrators on the streets in the country. Protesters then, as well as early Thursday, called on Iraqi officials to expel Sweden\u2019s ambassador to Iraq.
\nLate last month, Sadr called for protests against Sweden and the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador after an Iraqi man burned a Qur\u2019an outside a mosque in Stockholm.
\nTwo major protests took place outside of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in the aftermath of that Qur\u2019an burning, with protesters breaching the embassy grounds on one occasion but not entering the embassy building itself.
\nThe government of several Muslim countries, including Iraq, Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Morocco issued protests about the incident.
\nThe United States also condemned it, but added that issuing the permit supported freedom of expression and was not an endorsement of the action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Quran desecration Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for further detail BAGHDAD Hundred of protestors stormed the Swedish Embassy in central Baghdad in wee hours on Thursday monrning, scaled its walls and started a small fire in protest against the desecration of Quran in Sweden. The Iraqi government has warned that it will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":344393,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-344368","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n