Baghdad [Iraq], July 1: Hundreds of Iraqis rallied on Friday in the capital Baghdad to protest against the burning of the Muslim holy book Quran in Sweden.
The angry protesters, the majority of whom were followers of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, gathered in the Salhiyahneighborhood, where the Swedish embassy is located, just outside the heavily-fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad.
"Burning the Quran is considered an incitement to violence against those who believe in Islam," said a statement by al-Sadr read by his representative Mahmoud al-Jayashi at the rally.
"Since you criminalize the burning of the gay flag, why don't you consider the burning of Quran a major crime?" al-Sadr asked the Swedish authorities in the statement.
Earlier in the day, Iraqi forces tightened their security measures by cordoning off the Swedish embassy and closing all roads leading to the building with concrete barriers.
The measures came after dozens of Iraqi protesters stormed on Thursday afternoon the Swedish embassy in Baghdad following a call for an "angry demonstration" by al-Sadr, according to Iraqi media reports.
Also on Friday, Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed al-Sahaf said in a statement that Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein had requested an emergency high-level session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to discuss measures related to insulting the Quran.
On Thursday, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry summoned the Swedish ambassador over the Quran burning.
The ministry voiced its strong protest against the Swedish government's permission for such an act, calling on the Swedish government to take the necessary measures to stop the repeated insults to the Quran, according to a ministry statement.
A Swedish citizen of Iraqi origin reportedly tore up a copy of the Quran and burned it in front of a mosque in Stockholm on Wednesday during a demonstration authorized by the Swedish authorities, which sparked fury from Muslims around the world.
Source: Xinhua
