Salwan Momika strutted into view behind rows of police officers outside the picturesque Stockholm Central Mosque, waving two Swedish flags as the national anthem blasted over a speaker system.
With white AirPods in his ears and a cigarette hanging nonchalantly from his mouth, he then desecrated the Quran repeatedly on Wednesday by tearing it up and lighting it on fire.
Momika, an Iraqi refugee seeking to ban the Quran in Sweden, also laid a strip of bacon on the holy book and began stamping on it with his foot. Another unidentified man with him spoke to the crowd through a megaphone.
Officials from a number of countries, including many in the Middle East, have condemned the desecration of the Quran by the man in Sweden’s capital during a protest authorized by police.
Iran
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson called the desecration “provocative, ill-considered and unacceptable”.
“The government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran … do not tolerate such an insult and strongly condemn it,” said Nasser Kanaani.
“The Swedish government is expected to seriously consider the principle of responsibility and accountability in this regard, while preventing the repetition of insulting the holy sanctities,” he added.
Iran’s foreign ministry summoned Sweden’s charge d’affaires in Tehran, media reported on Thursday, condemning what it said was an insult to the most sacred Islamic sanctities.
“While Muslims are performing the Haj … insulting their sanctities merely serves the path of spreading hatred and violence, exploiting the principle of freedom of expression,” Iranian media said, citing a statement by the ministry.
Turkey
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan slammed Sweden over the incident, saying Ankara will never bow down to a policy of provocation or threat.
“We will teach the arrogant Western people that it is not freedom of expression to insult the sacred values of Muslims,” he said.
A day earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called the Quran desecration “despicable”.
“It is unacceptable to allow these anti-Islamic actions under the pretext of freedom of expression,” Fidan wrote on Twitter. “Turning a blind eye to such atrocious acts is to be complicit.”
Erdogan had told Sweden’s leaders at the time, “If you do not show respect to the religious beliefs of the Republic of Turkey or Muslims, you will not receive any support for NATO from us.”
Morocco
Morocco went beyond a statement of condemnation and recalled its ambassador to Sweden for an indefinite period.
The kingdom’s foreign ministry also called on Sweden’s chargé d’affaires in Rabat and expressed its “strong condemnation of this attack and its rejection of this unacceptable act”, according to state media.
Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Foreign Ministry also condemned the burning.
“These hateful and repeated acts cannot be accepted with any justification, as they clearly incite hatred, exclusion, and racism, and directly contradict international efforts seeking to spread the values of tolerance, moderation, and rejection of extremism, and undermine the necessary mutual respect for relations between peoples and states,” it said in a statement.
Egypt
“Egypt expresses its deep concern about the repeated incidents of burning the Holy Qur’an and the recent escalation of Islamophobia and crimes of blasphemy of religions in some European countries, affirming its total rejection of all reprehensible practices that affect the constants and religious beliefs of Muslims,” it said in a statement.
Iraq
Iraq summoned the Swedish ambassador to Iraq on Thursday over the incident.
It called the act “racist” and “irresponsible”, saying it condemns “the repeated acts of burning copies of the holy Quran by individuals with extremist and disturbed minds.”
“They are not only racist but also promote violence and hatred,” the Iraqi government said in a statement.
“These irresponsible actions, in direct conflict with the values of respect for diversity and the beliefs of others, are unequivocally condemned,” the government added.
Hundreds of Iraqis stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday after influential Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr urged people to do so, calling Sweden “hostile to Islam”.
Jordan
Jordan on Thursday summoned the Swedish ambassador and informed her of the country’s strong protest, the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a statement.
The country condemned the act, calling it “racist” and an “incitement”.
“The Ministry affirmed that burning the Holy Qur’an is an act of dangerous hate, and a manifestation of Islamophobia that incites violence and insulting religions and cannot be considered a form of freedom of expression at all,” the kingdom said in a statement.
Jordan said rejecting “extremism” is a “collective responsibility that everyone must abide by”.
Kuwait
Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the burning was a “dangerous, provocative step that inflames the feelings of Muslims around the world”.
It called on the international community and governments “to take responsibility for swift action to renounce feelings of hatred, extremism and religious intolerance”.
Yemen
The Yemeni government rejected the incident as one “deliberately provoking the feelings of Muslims around the world on holy Islamic occasions by a hateful extremist movement,” a statement by its foreign ministry said.
It also called for an end to the “repeated abuses” stemming from a “culture of hatred”.
Syria
Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the “disgraceful act” on Eid al-Adha holiday “by an extremist with the permission and consent of the Swedish government.”
“This crime, apart from offending the feelings of millions of Muslims, unequivocally illustrates the immoral level to which Western governments have descended, and the emptiness of their claims,” the ministry said in a statement.
Palestine
The Palestinian foreign ministry called the desecration a “flagrant attack on human rights, values of tolerance, acceptance of others, democracy and peaceful coexistence among followers of all religions.”
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates summoned the Swedish ambassador on Thursday to protest against the burning.
Qatar
Qatar condemned the Swedish authorities’ permission to burn copies of the Quran, calling it a “heinous” act to have especially occurred on Eid.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns that allowing repeated infringement of the Holy Quran under the pretext of freedom of expression fuels hatred and violence, threatens peaceful coexistence, and reveals abhorrent double standards,” its foreign ministry said.
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