Man stomps on Quran in Sweden, doesn’t burn it; Iraq expels Swedish envoy

A man stomps on a copy of the Quran outside Iraq’s embassy in Stockholm but does not ignite the book, hours after protesters stormed Sweden’s embassy  in Baghdad over a possible burning of the Muslim holy book.

Salwan Momika, 37, stomps and kicks the Quran but leaves the protest without burning pages of the book — as he did less than a month ago at a similar protest outside Stockholm’s main mosque.

In reaction, Iraq’s government says it has ordered the Swedish ambassador to leave and decided to withdraw its envoy from Stockholm for permitting the Quran-burning protest.

Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani “instructed the Swedish ambassador in Baghdad to leave Iraqi territory,” his office says in a statement.

It says the decision has been “prompted by the Swedish government’s repeated permission for the burning of the holy Quran, insulting Islamic sanctities and the burning of the Iraqi flag.”