The episodes of burning of the Koran are multiplying and with them the anger in the Islamic world is intensifying. Today the video has been released in which the ultranationalist group Danish Patriots sets fire to a copy of the holy book in front of the Iraqi embassy in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. The new challenge comes with angry spirits after this Thursday the Iraqi Salwan Momika starred for the second time in a very similar act in Stockholm.
The official Turkish news agency, Anadolu, has reported the new action, which occurred last Friday and was broadcast by the extremist group on social networks. In addition to the Koran, the ultranationalists burned a flag of Iraq, a country that has registered the strongest protests against the Swedish embassy. From what can be seen in the video, the burning took place under police protection and in the presence of representatives of the media.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry has condemned what happened in Copenhagen “in strong terms” and has described it as “an abuse and sacrilege against the Holy Quran and the flag of the Republic of Iraq in front of the embassy in Denmark.” He has not hesitated to describe it as an “insult and gesture of contempt for the feelings of 2,000 million Muslims around the world.”
The Iraqi portfolio has warned that these “hateful actions cannot be placed in the context of the right to freedom of expression or freedom of demonstration” and has called on the international community “to urgently and responsibly confront these atrocities that violate social peace and coexistence throughout the world.”
The Iraqi government’s complaint took place at the same time as a new massive march was taking place through the streets of the Iraqi capital, in this case with the Danish embassy as its objective.
Demonstration in Iraq
Thousands of protesters were dispersed by the Iraqi Police early in the morning as they approached the capital’s Green Zone, the protected neighborhood that houses most of the international diplomatic headquarters.
The Iraqi Presidency and the country’s security forces called on the population to calm down in the face of these “sinful acts.” “Citizens and political forces in Iraq have the right to express their anger and denounce any attack or violation of their beliefs, as long as this does not cause harm to our state and our people and deprive our foreign citizens of their diplomatic services,” the office of Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid said.
Along the same lines, the security forces urged the population not to approach “the headquarters of missions, embassies and State institutions because they are under strict protection.” They warned that neither the Police nor the Army “will hesitate to take dissuasive legal measures against anyone who tries to generate chaos and violence.”
Faced with growing tension, the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the world’s largest association of Muslim countries, will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the burning of Koran copies in Sweden and Denmark.
In Iran’s view, the perpetrators of these attacks deserve the “maximum punishment.” This was expressed by the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, who has demanded that Sweden hand over Momika, the Iraqi refugee who has led two actions against the Koran, one last Thursday and another in June. “He must be tried in an Islamist country,” he said according to the official Iranian news agency IRNA.
“All Muslim scholars agree that the perpetrator of this crime should be subjected to the maximum punishment,” said Khamenei, whose country leads the Shiite branch of Islam. He has considered that “with his authorization, the Swedish government should know that it has taken a belligerent stance against the Islamic world and has attracted hatred and hostility.”
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