Hezbollah, Palestinians denounce Quran burning in Sweden

The Hezbollah terror group, the Palestinians, and a number of Muslim and Middle Eastern countries condemn the burning of the Quran by an Iraqi living in Sweden, warning such acts “inflame” the feelings of Muslims around the world.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah calls on Sweden to put an end to such acts “rather than hiding behind freedom of speech.”

It urges religious authorities and Muslim and Arab nations to take “all the necessary steps” to compel Sweden and other countries to prevent the recurrence of such incidents and stop “the spread of a culture of hate.”

The Palestinian foreign ministry condemns what it says was a “flagrant attack on human rights, values of tolerance, acceptance of others, democracy and peaceful coexistence among followers of all religions.”

Under a heavy police presence, Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old who fled to Sweden several years ago, yesterday stomped on the Quran before setting several pages alight in front of Stockholm’s largest mosque.

Police in the Swedish capital had granted him a permit for the protest in line with free-speech protections, but said later they had opened an investigation into the man over “agitation.”

The incident occurred as Muslims around the world began marking the Eid al-Adha holiday and as the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia was drawing to a close.

Iran joins in the condemnation, calling the Quran burning “provocative, ill-considered and unacceptable.”