Iran’s Khamenei condemns Quran burning, demands perpetrator extradition to Islamic nations
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed his strong condemnation of those who desecrated the Quran and called for the imposition of the “most severe punishment” against them.
He further criticized Sweden for supporting the individuals responsible for the act, stating that the country seemed to be “going into battle-array for war on the Muslim world.”
In the aftermath of the Quran burning incident, protests erupted in both Iran and Iraq. The unrest escalated after Sweden allowed the burning of the Quran under the pretext of protecting free speech. Demonstrators in Iraq went so far as to set the Swedish embassy in Baghdad ablaze on Thursday.
The incident in question involved an Iraqi immigrant to Sweden who burned a Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm the previous month.
In response, protesters in Sweden gathered outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, where they kicked and partially destroyed a book they claimed was the Quran. Fortunately, they did not carry out their threat to burn it, as reported by Reuters witnesses.
While Swedish officials have expressed their disapproval of such acts, they maintained that they couldn’t prevent them from occurring.
Iran’s state media reported that Ayatollah Khamenei demanded Sweden to hand over those responsible for prosecution in Islamic countries.
In his statement, carried by state media, he emphasized, “All Islamic scholars agree that those who desecrate the Quran deserve the most severe punishment… The duty of the Swedish government is to hand over the perpetrator to the judicial systems of Islamic countries.”
As a sign of protest, Iran has delayed the appointment of a new ambassador to Sweden, and they have also stated that they will not accept a new Swedish envoy.
Through Twitter, Ayatollah Khamenei further expressed his discontent, saying, “The Swedish government should know that by supporting the criminal who burnt the Holy Quran, it has gone into battle-array for war on the Muslim world. They have created feelings of hatred & animosity toward them in all the Muslim nations & many of their governments.”
As of now, there has been no immediate response from a Swedish government representative.
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