Tehran (Times Of Ocean)- Iran says it holds the Swedish government responsible for the burning of the Quran by leader of Danish far-right political party Stram Kurs or Hard Line.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh condemned the desecration on Sunday, saying the Islamic Republic is looking forward to Stockholm’s immediate, strong and clear reaction against the perpetrators and practical measures to prevent such actions from happening again.
Rasmus Paludan, leader of a right-wing extremist party, burned the Quran on Thursday in an open public space in southern Linkoping – a heavily Muslim neighborhood. He ignored protests from onlookers.
Khatibzadeh said intentional repeating an anti-Islam blasphemous act during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan hurts Muslims both in Sweden and around the world.
The Foreign Ministry also summoned the Swedish chargé d’affaires to convey the Islamic Republic’s protest at the desecration.
Malaysia and Indonesia, along with the Swedish Islamic Center and many other groups and organizations, have strongly condemned the provocative action.
The Iraqi Shia cleric and leader of the Sadr Movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, called on the Iraqi Foreign Ministry on Saturday to summon the Swedish ambassador to Iraq.
Sweden has seen violent clashes in a number of cities, including the Stockholm suburb of Rinkeby as well as the cities of Linkoping and Norrkoping, since Thursday. Social media videos show young men smashing windows of police cars and shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest).
The Danish lawyer who holds both Danish and Swedish citizenship founded Stram Kurs in 2017 with an anti-immigration and anti-Islam agenda. In 2019, he burned the Quran and also wrapped it in bacon before throwing it in the air. Paludan was prohibited from entering Sweden for two years in 2020, and he was also prohibited from entering Germany for some time after he announced plans to hold a similar demonstration in Berlin.