Late on Thursday, Saudi Arabia said that it was calling a diplomat from Sweden to protest the granting of licences for rallies that violate the Quran. In a statement, the foreign ministry of the Gulf nation that is home to Muslim holy sites said it will provide the Swedish charge d’affaires with “a protest note that includes the kingdom’s request to the Swedish authorities to take all immediate and necessary measures to stop these disgraceful acts.”
The decision was made in the midst of rising hostilities between Sweden and Iraq over an Iraqi refugee living in Sweden who burned Quranic verses in front of Stockholm’s biggest mosque last month. Salwan Momika, a refugee, trod on the Quran in the most recent instance, which happened on Thursday, although he did not burn it.
The Swedish embassy in Baghdad was attacked in a chaotic early-morning assault by hundreds of Iraqis when it was learned that the Swedish authorities would allow the march to proceed.
In response to the protest in Sweden, the Iraqi government denounced the assault but also expelled Sweden’s ambassador, threatened to break off relations, and suspended the operating permit of Swedish telecom company Ericsson.
The burning of the Qur’an in June was denounced by Saudi Arabia as well. Sweden was urged to “stop all actions that 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.”
During the Eid al-Adha festival, the tragedy happened, igniting outrage and diplomatic protests around the Muslim world.
The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned the most recent demonstration in Stockholm on Thursday, calling it “another provocative attack” that couldn’t be justified by the right to free speech.
