In an attempt to further deteriorate relations between the two nations, protesters on Monday set fire to a copy of the Koran, Islam’s sacred book, in front of the Iraqi embassy in the Danish capital.
Iran and Iraq have seen widespread protests after Denmark and Sweden permitted the burning of the Koran under free speech protections. The Swedish embassy in Baghdad was set on fire by protesters in Iraq on Thursday.
A meeting organized by the ruling Iraqi parties and armed groups, many of which have ties to Iran, drew several thousand Iraqis to protest the burnings in the two Nordic countries on Saturday.
The organizer of the protest in Copenhagen on Monday tore up the Koran and lit it ablaze in a tin foil tray next to the Iraqi flag that was lying on the ground.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, stated on Saturday that those who disrespect the Koran should receive the “most severe punishment.”
The Muslim holy book has been set on fire by an anti-Islam protester outside the Turkish consulate in Denmark as well as close to a mosque in Copenhagen.
Rasmus Paludan, a far-right activist who is dual-nationality Swedish and Danish, angered the Turkish government on January 21 by holding a Quran-burning demonstration in Sweden.
[sourcelink link=”https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/protesters-burn-koran-front-iraqi-embassy-denmark-2023-07-24/”]
