Iraqi security forces early Saturday dispersed hundreds of Moqtada Sadr supporters in Baghdad trying to enter the highly secure Green Zone where the Danish embassy is located, a new mobilization against the desecration of the Koran amid diplomatic tensions.
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The night’s protest was sparked by press reports of an apparent desecration of the Koran in Denmark. On its Facebook page on Friday, the far-right Danske Patrioter movement posted a video of a man burning what appeared to be a Koran and stomping on an Iraqi flag.
Copenhagen Police Deputy Chief Inspector Trine Fisker contacted AFP on Saturday and confirmed “a very small demonstration outside the Iraqi embassy yesterday: I can also confirm that a book was burned, we don’t know which book it was”.
For several days, the impetuous religious leader Moqtada Sadr has been blowing on the embers.
Sadristic protesters set fire to the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday, after two sanctioned events in Stockholm where the Koran was desecrated by Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika. The Iraqi government announced the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador, which was followed by regional condemnations.
In response to the Copenhagen incident, several hundred protesters gathered in Tahrir Square in central Baghdad after 1am early Saturday morning, shouting “Yes, yes to the Koran” and holding up portraits of Moqtada Sadr, an AFP photographer reported.
Security forces had cut two bridges leading to the Green Zone, a safe neighborhood housing government institutions and embassies. But the thousand or so protesters tried to push through and clashes broke out when they were repelled and dispersed before dawn, an Interior Ministry official confirmed to AFP.
chain reactions
In an attempt to reach the Danish embassy, a handful of protesters managed to cross an entrance to the Green Zone, but security forces used batons and tear gas to force them to retreat, according to another security source who also asked to remain anonymous.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Saturday condemning “the desecration of the Holy Koran and the Iraqi flag in front of the Iraqi embassy in Denmark”. “These actions provoke reactions and put all parties in delicate situations,” he warned.
The ministry assures that “the Iraqi government will ensure the protection and security offered to the diplomatic teams.”
“We cannot allow what happened to the Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden to be repeated,” he said.
Iran also condemned the incident in Copenhagen.
“From the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Danish government is responsible for preventing insults to the Holy Qur’an,” said Iranian foreign policy spokesman Nasser Kanani.
In a statement, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Sweden to hand Mr Momika over to “the justice of Islamic countries”.
Swedish police said they allowed the gatherings in the name of freedom of assembly, but that doesn’t mean they agree.
“Escalation”
A supporter of beatings, Iraq’s Moqtada Sadr has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to mobilize thousands of protesters.
In the summer of 2022, his supporters invaded the Baghdad parliament and staged a sit-in. At the time, he was in the middle of a showdown with the opposing political camp over the appointment of a prime minister.
On Saturday, the troublemaker of Iraqi politics condemned the desecration of the Koran and maintained any ambiguity about the continuation of his mobilization.
“Words are no longer of any use… Religion is viewed as strange and its defenders as dubious individuals,” he tweeted.
On Thursday evening, Mr Sadr described the fire at the Swedish embassy as a “spontaneous and popular act” and warned of a possible “escalation” “if such desecrations of the Koran ever occur again”.
On Saturday, Iraqi President Abdel Latif Rachid called on “Western governments” to put an end to “provocations” and “the spread of hatred”.
“The political forces in Iraq have the right to express their anger (…) without harming our state,” he said.