Qur’an burning in Sweden sparks protest outside embassy in Baghdad

Dozens of Iraqis gathered on Thursday in front of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad to protest at the burning of a Qur’an outside a mosque in the Swedish capital Stockholm, according to a Reuters witness.

Some of the protesters burned a rainbow-coloured flag representing the LGBTQ2 community and chanted “yes, yes to the Qur’an.”

The governments of several other Muslim countries, including Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Morocco, issued protests about the incident.

A man tore up and burned a Qur’an outside Stockholm’s central mosque on Wednesday after Swedish police granted permission for the protest to take place. After the burning, Swedish police charged the man who carried it out with agitation against an ethnic or national group.

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Protesters gathered in Baghdad shortly after populist Shi’ite cleric Muqtada Sadr called for demonstrations outside the Swedish embassy in Baghdad, expelling the Swedish ambassador and burning the LGBTQ2 flag, among other demands.
–Reporting by Ahmed Saad, writing by Amina Ismail, Editing by William Maclean