Protesters set fire to a copy of the Quran outside the Iraqi Embassy in Denmark's capital of Copenhagen on Monday, drawing condemnation from Iraq and other Muslim-majority countries.
“This applies to the burning of Qurans and other religious symbols. It has no other purpose than to provoke and create division,” he said. He noted, however, that burning religious books was not a crime in Denmark.
It was the second time in just a few days protesters from an ultranationalist group called Danish Patriots burned the Quran, following similar acts by different groups in neighboring Sweden.
The acts have set off public protests in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Pakistan and elsewhere.
Swedish and Danish officials have condemned the desecration of the Quran but allowed such actions to go forward under the countries' freedom of expression and right to protest laws.
On Monday, the Iraqi government called on European countries to "reconsider" those laws.
On Sunday, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, a coalition of 57 Muslim countries, suspended the status of Sweden’s special envoy over the string of Quran burnings, saying the decision was due to the “granting by the Swedish authorities of licenses that enabled the repeated abuse of the sanctity of the Holy Quran and Islamic symbols”.
Iraq’s Foreign Ministry “strongly condemns, again, the repetition of the burning of a copy of the holy Qur’an in front of the Iraqi embassy in Denmark,” it said. Such acts allowed “the virus of extremism and hate” to pose “a real threat to the peaceful coexistence of societies.” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen also condemned the Qur’an burning. “These provocative and shameful acts do not represent the views of the Danish government. I appeal to all to deescalate — violence must never be the response,” he said.
Iraq’s Foreign Ministry called on authorities in European countries to “quickly reconsider so-called freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate.” Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al-Sudani met ambassadors from EU countries on Monday, and criticized the Qur’an desecrations. He said such actions had “nothing to do with freedom of expression,” and called on EU countries to “fight such racist acts and all those that incite violence.”
Thursday’s anti-Islam demonstration in Sweden’s capital, Stockholm, prompted Middle Eastern states, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, the region’s leading Sunni and Shia powers, to summon Swedish diplomats in protest.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday urged Sweden to hand over culprits to Islamic nations’ judiciaries.
“The Swedish government should know that by supporting the criminal who burnt the Holy Quran it has gone into battle array for war on the Muslim world,” he said on Twitter.
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