JEDDAH: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) would meet in an emergency session in Jeddah next week to discuss the consequences of the burning of a copy of the Qur’an in Sweden this week.
The executive committee meeting will “discuss the steps to be taken against the heinous act and adopt a collective position on the necessary course of action,” said a spokesman.
There has been widespread condemnation and outrage in the Muslim, especially the Arab world since a 37-years refugee from Iraq, Salwan Momika desecrated a copy of the Qur’an and set ablaze its pages in front of the Stockholm’s largest mosque Wednesday.
Nations throughout the Middle East and beyond denounced the burning, some recalled their ambassadors, and foreign ministries summoned the Swedish ambassadors to their countries to hear official protests.
The anger continued on Friday as thousands of supporters of populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr held a protest in front of the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad to demand an end to diplomatic ties.
Protesters carried Iraqi flags and portraits of Al-Sadr and his father, also a prominent cleric, and chanted “Yes, yes to the Qur’an, Moqtada, Moqtada.”
The cleric had called for “mass angry protests against the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad” to demand the expulsion of the Swedish envoy and the severing ties with Sweden.
Meanwhile, the man behind the row has threatened to do it again. “Within 10 days I will burn the Iraqi flag and the Qur’an in front of Iraq’s Embassy in Stockholm,” he said.
Momika said he knew his action would provoke reactions and that he had received “thousands of death threats.” He, however, denied that his actions constituted a “hate crime” or “agitation toward any group.”
