Muslims nations protest over holy book desecration

Iraqis raise copies of the Quran during protests in Baghdad. Pic/AP

Thousands of people took to the streets in a handful of Muslim-majority countries Friday to express their outrage at the desecration of a copy of the Quran in Sweden, a day after protesters stormed the country's embassy in Iraq.

The protests in Iraq, Lebanon and Iran that followed weekly prayers were controlled and peaceful, in contrast to scenes in Baghdad on Thursday, when demonstrators occupied the Swedish Embassy compound for several hours and set a small fire.

Under scorching heat Friday, thousands gathered in Baghdad's Sadr City, a stronghold of influential Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr, some of whose followers took part in the attack on the Swedish Embassy. They brandished Qurans, burned the Swedish flag and the LGBTQ rainbow flag and chanted, "Yes, yes to the Quran, no, no to Israel."

In the southern suburbs of Beirut, thousands more gathered at a protest called by the Iran-backed militia and political party Hezbollah, also brandishing copies of the holy book and chanting "with our blood, we protect the Quran." Some burned Swedish flags.

Iraq cut diplomatic ties with Sweden earlier that day, with demonstrators planning to take to the streets.. The protests come after an Iraqi man of Christian origin living in Stockholm disrespected the Quran. He gave similar treatment to an Iraqi flag and to photos of Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and of Iran's leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

July 20
Day the incident happened in Sweden

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