ISupporters of the Shiite preacher Muqtada al-Sadr attacked the Swedish embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. Sadr, a populist known for being able to quickly mobilize masses of his supporters, had called for protests on Twitter. Among other things, he called for the Iraqi refugee who had burned a Koran in front of a Stockholm mosque to be stripped of his citizenship. Sadr also demanded that the Swedish ambassador be expelled from the country. This represents a country that is “hostile to Islam” and supports immoral behavior. He must have meant homosexuality by that, because he called for the burning of the flag of the LGBTQ movement in a very vague way.
Pictures circulated online Thursday afternoon showed a mob rampaging outside the embassy grounds. A photographer from the AFP news agency reported that a few dozen Sadr supporters briefly entered the property. However, they were withdrawn when security forces deployed. The embassy has been denounced by Sadr supporters as a site of espionage and obscenity, eyewitnesses said.
Demands for the extradition of the fugitive
The Iraqi government had reacted with harsh criticism to the burning of the Koran, describing it as an act of people with “sick brains”. Demands were made from the judiciary to obtain the extradition of the Iraqi refugee and to bring him to justice.
Sadr has a loyal following that is mainly recruited from the lower classes. As Iraq descended into bloody chaos after Saddam Hussein was toppled in the 2003 American invasion, he commanded a feared militia and death squads. In strongholds such as the impoverished and neglected Sadr City district of Baghdad, the preacher’s men pushed through a conservative Islamic lifestyle. Sadr-affiliated social media called for a “protest by the millions” after Friday prayers.
Observers in the Iraqi capital questioned whether Sadr was also trying to find an outlet for his supporters’ displeasure. The preacher was defeated by his Shia rivals in the political power struggle to form the current government and has allegedly retired from politics. However, these forces now supported Sadr. Qais al-Khazali, leader of the pro-Iranian Shiite militia Asaib ahl al-Haq, called for support for the protests. The burning of the Koran is just another link in a chain of false Western slogans. Khazali’s militia is classified as a terrorist group in the United States.
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