Jordan summons Swedish envoy to protest burning of Quran copy in Stockholm

By Laith Al-Junaidi

AMMAN, Jordan (AA) – The Jordanian Foreign Ministry on Thursday summoned Sweden's Ambassador to Amman Alexandra Rydmark to protest the burning of the Islamic holy book, the Quran, in Stockholm under the protection of local police.

The ministry in a statement "condemned the burning of a copy of the Holy Quran as a racist act of serious hate, and a manifestation of Islamophobia that incites violence and insult to religions."

"Such acts cannot be justified in the context of freedom of expression at all," the ministry said, reiterating its rejection and condemnation of such acts, which are considered "a crime and a provocation to the feelings of more than two billion Muslims around the world."

On the first day of Muslims' main religious festival, Eid Al-Adha, on Wednesday, Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi refugee, burned a copy of the Muslim holy book in front of Stockholm Mosque under police protection.

Momika, who had previously been denied such a demonstration, tore pages from the holy book and set it on fire.

On June 12, a Swedish appeals court upheld a lower court's decision to overturn a ban on Quran burning, ruling that police had no legal grounds to prevent two Quran burning protests earlier this year.

In February, police refused permission for two Quran burning attempts, citing security concerns, after far-right Danish politician Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm in January this year.

Later, two individuals who attempted to stage provocative actions outside the Iraqi and Turkish embassies in Stockholm appealed the decision.

In April, the Stockholm Administrative Court reversed the decision, ruling that the security risks were insufficient to restrict the ability to demonstrate.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat