It is not unusual for demonstrations to take place after the Friday prayer.
That’s what Middle Eastern correspondent Terese Cristiansson says – who believes that today we may see more protests against Sweden after the revelations from the Koran.
– This situation is incredibly serious, she says.
Since the Koran burning outside the Turkish embassy in January, Sweden’s image in the Muslim world has continued to deteriorate – and the anger has continued to grow, according to Cristiansson.
– Then this has been fueled and Sweden has got a worse image. The consequences could be diplomatic crises, economic impacts, greater threats to Swedish companies and embassies – and to Swedish people moving in the Muslim world, she says.
Several diplomatic and economic consequences have already hit Sweden. Yesterday’s action by two people outside Iraq’s embassy in Stockholm caused Iraq to break diplomatic contact with Sweden.
Now Iran, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are calling Sweden’s ambassadors in the countries to protest. In Lebanon, the leader of the Islamist Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, demands that Muslims act together.
Several protests are expected today: “Sensitive day”
Friday could mean several protests. It is not unusual for demonstrations to take place after the Friday prayer.
– It is the usual day for large demonstrations, that you go out after the prayer and do this. It is not impossible that we will see this type of demonstration in several places, including in Iraq, says Terese Cristiansson.
What is more decisive is whether large Muslim universities go out and call for protest, according to Cristiansson.
– If universities or others come out and say that we should boycott Swedish companies, we have not seen that yet. But it could come today, tomorrow, or later this weekend. Friday is an incredibly sensitive day, so we will probably see some kind of development during the day.