Swedish authorities took the precautionary measure of evacuating their embassy staff from Iraq to Stockholm due to security concerns on July 21, BBC News has reported.
In response to protesters storming the Swedish embassy in Baghdad for a second time and setting fire to its compound, Baghdad took decisive action by recalling its charge d'affaires in Sweden and suspending business dealings with Swedish companies.
The Swedish foreign minister firmly expressed his disapproval, deeming the protests "completely unacceptable."
The embassy breach occurred after news spread that Swedish police had granted permission to an Iraqi Christian refugee, Salwan Momika, to burn a Quran for a second time in Stockholm. Although Mr. Momika stamped on the book outside the Iraqi embassy, he refrained from igniting it. The previous month, he had set a copy ablaze outside Stockholm's main mosque.
Given the reverence Muslims hold for the Quran as the word of God, any deliberate damage or disrespect towards it is profoundly offensive. In Baghdad, protesters, primarily followers of Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, scaled the walls of the Swedish embassy, set fires within the compound, and clashed with riot police.
Before the incident, Iraq had warned the Swedish government that diplomatic relations would be severed if Momika's second Quran burning was allowed. Subsequently, on July 20, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani made an official statement, requesting Iraq's Swedish ambassador to leave the country.
Furthermore, Iraq suspended work permits for Swedish businesses, including the telecom giant Ericsson, as reported by Iraq's state news agency INA. Other countries, such as Iran, Turkey, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, also voiced their protest to Sweden for permitting the Quran desecration.
Sweden's Foreign Minister, Tobias Billstrom, released a statement strongly condemning the attack on their Baghdad embassy. He stressed that Iraqi authorities have a clear obligation under the Vienna Convention to safeguard diplomatic missions and personnel.
The US, UK, and EU also condemned the attack on the embassy, expressing their discontent with the lack of protection from Iraqi forces. The Quran incident captured the attention of numerous Muslim-majority countries and even drew the Pope's condemnation of Salwan Momika's actions.
This incident has underscored the existing tensions surrounding Sweden's freedom of speech laws and their implications.
Follow Daryo's official Instagram and Threads pages to keep up to date on world news.
Comments (0)