2023-07-25 00:50:20
L’Algeria castigates the recent desecrations of the Koran in Copenhagen and Stockholm. “Following the recurrence of incidents of burning and desecration of the Holy Quran in Copenhagen and Stockholm, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned, on Monday, the ambassador of the Denmark and the Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of Sweden in Algeria, in order to inform them of Algeria’s official protest”, said a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs published on Monday, July 24.
Algiers also expressed “its firm condemnation of these immoral and uncivil acts which target everything that is sacred for Muslims everywhere in the world”, according to the press release which underlines that it has been “brought to the attention of diplomats that such acts by their appalling and abject nature, in no way fall within the scope of freedom of expression, as those who defend, advocate and profit from them wrongly claim”.
Algeria urged Denmark and Sweden to “take all necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such acts, hated by all monotheistic religions, laws and international customs”.
“These reprehensible acts, contrary to the values of tolerance and coexistence, are likely to rekindle hatred and fuel Islamophobia,” the statement concluded.
Demonstrations in Baghdad
Sweden was the target of major protests last week in Baghdad following two events in Stockholm to desecrate the Koran.
The instigator of the desecrations, Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee, had set fire to pages of the book at the end of June, before trampling it and tearing it to pieces last Thursday in the Swedish capital.
In reaction to the authorization given by the Swedish police for this rally, supporters of the influential Iraqi religious leader Moqtada al-Sadr invaded and burned down the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad Thursday shortly before dawn. Baghdad also ordered the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador in Irak and announced the suspension of Swedish telecom equipment giant Ericsson’s license in the country.
On Friday, Stockholm announced the repatriation of staff from its embassy in Iraq for security reasons. The day before, the head of Swedish diplomacy Tobias Billström had denounced an “unacceptable attack” and affirmed that the Iraqi authorities had “failed in (their) obligation” to protect the Swedish diplomatic mission.
Read alsoQuran burning tests Sweden’s stance on free speech
Referring to the desecration of the Koran, Tobias Billström had also castigated an “offensive and disrespectful act”.
On Saturday, a new demonstration took place overnight in Baghdad following reports of another desecration of the Koran in Denmark. On Facebook, the far-right Danske Patrioter movement posted a video of a man apparently burning a Quran and stomping on an Iraqi flag.
The Danish Foreign Ministry has condemned the “burning of the Koran”, a “shameful” and “provocative act, which hurts many people”.
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