Yemen rebels ban Swedish goods over Quran burning

By Anadolu staff

ADEN, Yemen (AA) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels have banned the sale of Swedish goods in areas under their control over the burning of Islam’s holy book, the Quran.

“The Houthis will boycott Swedish goods due to insults against the sacred values of Islam,” Minister of Industry and Trade Muhammad Sharaf al-Mutahhar told the Houthi-run Al-Masirah television.

Last month, a person identified as Salwan Momika burned a copy of the Quran under police protection in front of Stockholm Mosque in Sweden.

His provocative act was timed to coincide with Eid al-Adha, one of the major Islamic religious festivals celebrated by Muslims worldwide.

The act has elicited widespread condemnations from across the Islamic world, including Türkiye, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Senegal, Morocco and Mauritania.

In January, a far-right politician also set fire to a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Sweden.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital, Sana’a.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi