Much of the Islamic world was outraged after the burning of the Koran at a mosque in Stockholm on Wednesday. The fact that it happened on one of Islam’s holiest days doesn’t help.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry, which summoned Swedish attorneys on the carpet, was careful to point out that the timing of the arson was particularly offensive. Wednesday is the first day of Eid al-Adha, which along with Eid are the two biggest holidays in the religion.

Several countries have condemned the arson and believe it incited hatred. Morocco has recalled its ambassador from Stockholm, while Jordan and the Emirates have recalled their ambassadors from Sweden.

– This hateful and repetitive behavior is not acceptable under any circumstances. They explicitly promote hatred, exclusion and racism, the Saudi Foreign Ministry wrote in a statement.

Storming the embassy

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a news conference the actions were allowed as part of freedom of expression, but were inappropriate.

The biggest practical consequence of the burning of the Koran so far was that protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday.

One of Iraq’s most influential politicians and clerics, Muqtada al-Sadr, is suspected of being behind the riots. The raid didn’t last long, and all the diplomats survived, but there may be more such incidents in the future.

– More protests are expected. That’s enough, Middle East expert Ingmar Karlsson tells TT.

Türkiye can continue to block

Because there have been several Koran burnings in Sweden this year, although this is the first in months.

However, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s big headache lies in Ankara. Turkey is one of two countries that have yet to accede to Sweden’s NATO application – and most of the country’s population is Muslim.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed strong displeasure with the burning of the Koran and other demonstrations against Islam in Sweden, and said in a telephone conversation with German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz that Sweden should not wait for a green light from Turkey “soon”.

On Friday, Kristersson stated that Hungary would not delay NATO’s entry into Sweden. Read more about this here.