Sweden condemns Quran burning incident in Stockholm, Baghdad responds

Yesterday, Thursday, the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Swedish Ambassador to Baghdad and handed her a protest over the burning of a copy of the Quran.

Ahmed Al-Sahhaf, the spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated in a statement today that the ministry received a copy of a letter from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its embassy in Stockholm. The letter, directed to the heads of missions of the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, expressed deep regret over the events that took place on Wednesday, the first day of Eid al-Adha, in front of the Stockholm Mosque.

He added that Jan Knutsson, the representative of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "confirmed the strong rejection by the Swedish government of such acts that are hostile to Islam, and that it does not support or tolerate any opinions that are hostile to Islam expressed by the person involved in this incident."

The statement also quoted the Swedish Foreign Ministry's representative as saying that the government of Sweden "fully understands that Muslims in Sweden and other countries have felt insulted by what happened." He pointed out that the police are conducting an investigation into the suspected violations under the Swedish hate crime law.

He also stated that there is a constitutional right in Sweden to freedom of assembly, expression, and demonstration, and that the police make independent decisions regarding allowing protests, while noting that the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed the police of the relevant considerations from its point of view.

In turn, Al-Sahhaf said that the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs reflects the values and ethics of the Iraqi state and its people, who respect religious sanctities and attach great sensitivity to this matter. He emphasized that the ministry's position continues consistently, reaffirming the importance of the Swedish side responding to the demand of the Iraqi government to hand over the perpetrator of this heinous act to face legal consequences under

Iraqi law.