The Maghreb Arab News Agency reported that "Morocco summoned its ambassador to Sweden for indefinite consultations after a man tore up a Quran and burned it near the Stockholm Central Mosque yesterday, Wednesday." It added, "The Moroccan Foreign Ministry strongly condemned this assault and rejected this unacceptable act."
Damascus condemned in the strongest terms the desecration of the Quran by an extremist with the approval of the Swedish government, describing it as a disgraceful act. A source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates stated: "The Arab Republic of Syria strongly condemns the disgraceful act of desecrating the Quran on one of the holiest days for millions of Muslims by an extremist with the permission and approval of the Swedish government." The source added: "This crime, besides touching the feelings of millions of Muslims and contradicting feelings of love and respect between religions, clearly shows the moral level to which Western governments have descended, along with the hypocrisy and false values they claim, which the most extreme groups have not reached in their detachment from human and spiritual values." The source further emphasized: "Western governments suffering from civilizational superiority complexes must stop spreading and inflaming hatred among peoples and understand that the freedom of some stops at the boundaries of the freedom of others and respect for their feelings, and thus cannot in any way justify their crime of attacking the Quran."
Al-Sadr Calls for Protest
On Thursday, the leader of the Sadrist Movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, called for a massive angry protest against the Swedish embassy in Iraq, marking the first Arab action against the burning of the Quran in Sweden. Al-Sadr posted on his official Twitter page: "If freedom of expression is guaranteed globally and in Iraq, believers should express their opinion regarding the burning of the Quran in front of mosques and embassies through a massive angry protest against the Swedish embassy in Iraq, demanding the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador and severing relations with Sweden." Al-Sadr also called for "revoking the Iraqi nationality from the perpetrator and working towards his return to Iraq or judging him in absentia, while ensuring protection for his relatives residing in Iraq."
Lebanese Foreign Ministry
The Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants strongly condemned the burning of the Quran in Sweden by a group of extremists. It stated that "this act, which has occurred for the second time, constitutes an attack on the sanctities of Muslims and provokes their feelings, increasing Islamophobia and hatred towards them instead of consolidating values of tolerance and coexistence between religions and civilizations, which cannot be justified under the pretext of freedom of expression as it fuels hatred and generates violence." The ministry's statement called for "a definitive end to these provocations and for them to be considered crimes punishable by law, given their negative impact on relationships between religions and peoples."
Hezbollah
Lebanese Hezbollah condemned "the tearing and burning of a copy of the Quran in front of a mosque in Stockholm," considering that "the Swedish official authorities are complicit in the crime as they granted permission to the demonstrators, fully aware of their prior intention to commit this serious act." In a statement, it noted: "The repeated attacks on the Quran in this country and elsewhere cannot be overlooked, and the Swedish government must stop this downward path instead of hiding behind the slogans of freedom of expression and others."
The Progressive Socialist Party
The media commission of the Progressive Socialist Party deemed it "completely unacceptable to continue sheltering behind freedom of expression to allow this suspicious repetition of Quran burning incidents in Sweden, which not only disrespects the sanctity of religious practices for all but deliberately provokes feelings of hatred, incitement, and fanaticism, cautioning against the dire consequences of this." The statement affirmed that "condemning such criminal acts is insufficient; rather, the Swedish state, which aspires in its constitution to respect human rights, including freedom of belief, must immediately hold accountable those who commit these acts that stir hostility, ignorance, and extremism."
