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Iraq Asks Sweden to Hand Over Perpetrator Who Burnt Copy of The Quran

Supporters of the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr raises of the Quran, the Muslims' holy book, during a demonstration in front of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in response to the burning of Quran in Sweden, Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Supporters of the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr raises of the Quran, the Muslims' holy book, during a demonstration in front of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in response to the burning of Quran in Sweden, Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
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Iraq Asks Sweden to Hand Over Perpetrator Who Burnt Copy of The Quran

Supporters of the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr raises of the Quran, the Muslims' holy book, during a demonstration in front of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in response to the burning of Quran in Sweden, Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Supporters of the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr raises of the Quran, the Muslims' holy book, during a demonstration in front of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in response to the burning of Quran in Sweden, Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Iraq will be taking several measures against the Iraqi refugee who burnt a copy of the Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm, including asking the Swedish authorities to hand him over for trial, the Iraqi Consul General in Jeddah, Mohammad al-Naqshbandi, told Asharq Al-Awsat on Sunday.

On the first day of Eid al-Adha, an Iraqi refugee stomped on and burnt pages of the Islamic holy book outside a mosque in Stockholm . Swedish authorities authorized the protest under freedom of expression and assembly.

Naqshbandi, Iraq's delegate to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), explained that the government had called for a high-level meeting.

He regretted the recurrence of such actions against the Holy Quran and even more that the person in question is of Iraqi origin this time.

"It pains us that this act took place on the first day of the Muslim Eid and in front of a mosque where the blessed Eid Al-Adha prayer was held”, he said.

Naqshbandi indicated that Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein took several steps, including contacting the UN Sec-Gen. in this regard.

Hussein received a phone call from his Swedish counterpart Tobias Billstrom to discuss the incident.

The Foreign Ministry summoned the Swedish Ambassador, Jessica Svardstrom, and notified her of Iraq's strong protest over her government's permission for an extremist to burn a copy of the Quran.

Naqshbandi explained that under Iraqi law, the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Faeq Zaidan, took legal action against the Iraqi person who burned a copy of the Holy Quran and had not acquired Swedish citizenship yet.

Among the legal measures, Iraq demanded he be repatriated, under the article mentioned in the Iraqi constitution regarding insulting Islamic sanctities.

Asharq Al-Awsat asked the diplomat about the motives for this act, and Naqshbandi explained that some institutions or parties push for such actions.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held an extraordinary meeting of the open-ended Executive Committee to discuss measures and the repercussions of the incident. Naqshbandi described the final statement as solid and practical.

The OIC called for unified and collective measures to prevent the recurrence of acts of desecration of the Quran

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.