Like an air of deja vu. The Swedish embassy in Baghdad in Iraq was targeted by supporters of religious leader Moqtada Sadr on Thursday July 20, shortly before dawn. The building was set on fire as a protest planning a Quran burning was cleared by Swedish police. The event is due to be held at 11 a.m. in Stockholm.
The organizer, an Iraqi refugee in Sweden named Salwan Momika, confirmed on Facebook that he planned to burn a copy of the Quran. On June 27, he had already set fire to a few pages of the sacred book in front of the largest mosque in Stockholm, during the Muslim festival of Eid-el-Adha. This action triggered the assault on the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad. Several followers of Moqtada Sadr had entered the building and remained there for about a quarter of an hour.
Staff secured
This time, the embassy was set on fire but the staff were taken “to safety”, according to the Swedish Foreign Ministry. “We are aware of the situation. Staff are safe and the ministry is in regular contact with them,” he told AFP. The demonstrators were dispersed by Iraqi riot forces. They chased them with electric batons while they retaliated with stone throwing.
Civil defense trucks were dispatched to put out the fire. Some demonstrators brandished copies of the Koran, others portraits of Mohamed al-Sadr, a Shiite religious cleric and father of Moqtada Sadr. “We have mobilized today to denounce the burning of the Koran, which is only love and faith,” a protester told AFP. “We demand from the Swedish government and the Iraqi government that this kind of initiative stops.”
A supporter of religious leader Moqtada Sadr holds a copy of the Quran during a protest outside the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on July 20, 2023 in Iraq.
© / afp.com/Ahmad AL-RUBAYE
An open investigation
With regard to Iraq, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instructed the police to carry out “an urgent investigation” and to take “all necessary measures” to identify the perpetrators of the fire. He was sentenced “in the harshest terms,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Swedish government has not yet reacted. The police had authorized the mini-rally on July 20, insisting that no official request to burn religious texts had been filed. She claims to have validated the principle of a public assembly, with regard to the right to freedom of assembly guaranteed by the Constitution.
Not enough to convince Moqtada Sadr and his supporters. A follower of outbursts, the influential Shiite leader has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to mobilize thousands of demonstrators in the streets of Iraq. He distinguished himself by opposing the American presence after 2003, and by carrying out several charitable actions in neighborhoods of Baghdad. He also benefits from the popularity of his father, Mohamed al-Sadr, a religious cleric assassinated and elevated to the rank of martyr. In the summer of 2022, his supporters invaded Parliament and set up a sit-in for several weeks. Moqtada Sadr was in full tussle with the opposing political camp over the appointment of a prime minister.