Iraq expels Swedish ambassador in response to Quran desecration in Sweden

Iraq's prime minister has ordered the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador from Iraq and the withdrawal of the Iraqi charge d’affaires from Sweden as a man desecrated of a copy of the Quran in Stockholm.

Thursday's diplomatic blowup came hours after protesters angered by the planned burning of a copy of the Quran stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad, breaking into the compound and lighting a small fire.

Online videos showed demonstrators at the diplomatic post waving flags and signs showing the Iraqi Shia cleric and political leader Muqtada al Sadr before a planned burning of the Islamic holy book in Stockholm by an Iraqi asylum-seeker who burned a copy of the Quran in a previous demonstration last month.

Following the incident, the Swedish Embassy announced that it had closed to visitors without specifying when it would reopen.

The Swedish Foreign Ministry said in a statement that its staff were safe.

“We condemn all attacks on diplomats and staff from international organisations,” the ministry said. “Attacks on embassies and diplomats constitute a serious violation of the Vienna Convention. Iraqi authorities have the responsibility to protect diplomatic missions and diplomatic staff.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani said in a statement after meeting with security officials that Iraqi authorities will prosecute those responsible for the arson as well as referring “negligent security officials” for investigation.

However, the statement also said that the Iraqi government had informed its Swedish counterpart on Wednesday that Iraq would cut off diplomatic relations should the Quran burning go forward. Hours later, Sudani announced the ordered expulsion of the Swedish ambassador.

The anti-Muslim protest in Stockholm

The announcement came after two men held an anti-Islam protest on a lawn about 100 metres from the Iraqi Embassy in Stockholm. One of them, identified by Swedish media as Salwan Momika, an Iraqi Christian living in Sweden, stepped on and kicked the Quran, but didn't set it on fire.

Momika also stepped on and kicked an Iraqi flag and photographs of Sadr and of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

About 50 people including journalists and a handful of counterdemonstrators who chanted religious slogans watched the demonstration from behind police barricades as plainclothes and uniformed officers stood by.

Following the protest and Sudani's announcement, the head of Iraq's Media and Communications Commission announced it had suspended the license of Swedish communications company Ericsson to operate in Iraq.

Stockholm police spokesman Mats Eriksson confirmed that police had granted permission for a demonstration involving two people outside the Iraqi Embassy in Stockholm on Thursday.

He could not say whether the protesters were planning to burn the Quran, although Momika had announced in videos posted on social media that they planned to do so.

The right to hold public demonstrations is strong in Sweden and protected by the constitution. Blasphemy laws were abandoned in the 1970s.

Police generally give permission based on whether they believe a public gathering can be held without major disruptions or risks to public safety.

However, for Muslims, the burning of the Quran represents a blasphemous desecration of their religion's holy text. Quran burnings in the past have sparked protests across the Muslim world.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban have suspended all the activities of Swedish organisations in the country in response to the recent Quran burning.

Last month, a man identified by local media and on his social media as Momika burned a Quran outside a Stockholm mosque during the major Muslim holiday of Eid al Adha, triggering widespread condemnation.

A similar protest by a far-right activist was held outside Türkiye’s Embassy earlier this year, complicating Sweden’s efforts to convince Türkiye to let it join NATO.

In June, protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad over that Quran burning. Protesters then called on Iraqi officials to expel Sweden's ambassador to Iraq.