Following Burning Of Quran In Sweden: Demonstrations, Calls In Lebanon To Cut Ties With Sweden; Sweden Has Gone Into 'Battle-Array For War' With The Islamic Nation

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On July 20, 2023, it emerged that Sweden had once again granted permission to Salwan Momika, an Iraqi Christian seeking asylum in the country, to burn a copy of the Quran and an Iraqi flag outside the Iraqi Embassy. Later that day, Momika stood opposite the Embassy of Iraq in Stockholm with a copy of the Quran and an Iraqi flag. He proceeded to kick at and stomp on the Quran and even tore pages out of it. This act took place about a month after Momika had burned a copy of the Quran during the Muslim Eid Al-Adha holiday outside the central mosque in Stockholm, and triggered fury and condemnation across the Muslim world.[1] The fact that Sweden allowed Momika to desecrate a Quran a second time in less than a month sparked a wave of protest and anger across the Arab world directed at the Swedish government. This time, that reaction included a diplomatic response from the Iraqi government, which expelled the Swedish ambassador and recalled its official representative from the Iraqi Embassy in Sweden, while warning that it would cut diplomatic ties with Sweden if such incidents persist.[2] The incident also set off a wave of protests and demonstrations in Lebanon, where the main instigator was Hizbullah. The heads of the organization called on the masses to take to the streets at the conclusion of Friday prayers at the mosque, and called on the Lebanese government to follow Iraq’s example and expel the Swedish ambassador and recall the Lebanese ambassador from Sweden. They also claimed that the U.S. and Israel were behind the desecrations of the Quran. It is notable that on July 21, 2023, the Lebanese Al-Jadeed daily reported that Swedish Ambassador Ann Dismorr had left Lebanon on Friday evening, July 21, after the demonstrations, “for a scheduled vacation.”

The following is a review of the responses in Lebanon to the desecration of the Quran on July 20, 2023:

Senior Hizbullah Officials: The Persistence Of Such Incidents Will Position Sweden As A Country At War With Islam

On July 20, the third night of the Muslim month of Muharram, Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah dovoted his speech to the event in Sweden. He was speaking at one of the events held during that month in which the Ashura is commemorated, which marks the death of Hussein bin Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad in the battle of Karbala in the year 680. Nasrallah praised Iraq for expelling the Swedish ambassador and called on Arab and Islamic government to take similar steps. He said, “There are more than 50 Arab and Islamic countries, imagine what would happen if they recalled their ambassadors from Sweden and demand that Sweden’s ambassadors leave their territory, what would happen to Sweden, to the country and to its interests?” He contended that a boycott of Swedish products was not sufficient, and to prevent a recurrence of such incidents, countries should threaten to cut off diplomatic relations with Sweden which has “tremendous interests in Arab and Islamic countries.” Nasrallah urged “the brothers and sisters in all neighborhoods and villages [in Lebanon] to go to mosques tomorrow with their Qurans and to demand that the government take a stand regarding Sweden.”[3]

In another speech that he delivered two days later, Nasrallah once again related to the desecration of the Quran in Sweden and to the burning of a copy of the Quran in Denmark on July 21, and rejected the subsequent apologies from both countries. He said that those apologies “were insufficient. Those governments must prevent these abusive acts.” Nasrallah urged the government of Sweden to pay close attention to the communiqué published by the Supreme Leader of Iran, the imam Ali Al-Khamenei, stressing that “One sentence in the communiqué is extremely important, and I advise the Swedish government to consult experts in Islamic law and jurisprudence, and ask them about this sentence, to know where it is heading. This applies also to the government of Denmark if it insists on not dealing with the situation.

“Imam Khamenei says in his communiqué: 'The Swedish government should also know that by supporting the criminal' – he means the man who attacked the Quran – 'it has gone into battle-array for war against the Islamic world and has brought upon itself the hatred and enmity of the Islamic nations and many of their governments.”

“The expression 'battle-array for war' does not need a long explanation. It means that if the Swedish government continues this path, it will become categorized as a country at war with Islam and the Muslims. I advise the Swedish government to make consultations and ask what it will mean for Sweden to be categorized as a country at war with Islam.”

Nasrallah also said that “If the assessment is correct that it is the Mossad that is behind these attacks on the Quran, that means that these attacks will continue, and therefore we must continue to monitor [the situation] and to take firm positions.”

At the same time, Nasrallah sought to prevent spontaneous reactions over which he is likely to lose control, and called on young people not to take personal initiatives that extend beyond Hizbullah guidelines. He remarked, “We are not in a campaign of emotions, but we support the victory and the victory will be achieved with measured, considered, and determined steps. In Lebanon we must not open the door to those who seek to fish in murky water.”[4]

Similar sentiments were voiced by other senior members of the organization. For instance, Deputy Secretary-General of Hizbullah, Sheikh Naim Qassem also urged the Lebanese government to expel the Swedish ambassador, and called on Arab and Islamic countries to consider similar steps, “so they will understand that we don’t need them.”[5] At an event that was held in the city of Baalbek two days later, Qassem claimed that the attacks on the Quran were “part of an American and Zionist plan and part of a plan to establish the occupation in our region in order to violate the principles of our religion.”[6]

The mufti Ahmad Qabalan, a Shi’ite cleric affiliated with Hizbullah, issued a statement in which he wrote that the Quran is the most sacred thing to Muslims and that the permission to burn it or to stamp on it that was granted by the authorities in Sweden is “a greater crime than all the tyranny in the world. We will not be silent, for silence in this case is a crime equal in severity to the eradication of all mankind… Every blow to the Swedish interests is justified to protect our cultural and existential rights.” Qabalan called on the government of Lebanon to assume its responsibility and warned that shirking this responsibility is “treason.”[7]

Anti-Sweden Demonstrations Across Lebanon

And in fact, after Friday prayers at the mosque on July 21, throngs of people streamed to demonstrations in the streets of Lebanon, at the mosques, and in the vicinity of the Swedish embassy in Beirut. During the demonstrations, at which senior Hizbullah members were present, the protesters waved copies of the Quran and photographs of Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who was assassinated by the U.S. on January 3, 2020. Cries of “Death to America” were also heard.

For example, during a demonstration in Haret Hreik a municipality in the Dahieh suburbs, south of Beirut, sheikh Ali Da’moush, deputy chairman of the Hizbullah Executive Council, said that the government of Sweden, which permits crimes like these, should accept full responsibility and pay the price for “the recurring obscene provocations.” Da’moush urged the Arab and Islamic countries not to make do with condemnations, but to take action to recall their ambassadors from Sweden and to expel the Swedish ambassadors from their territory, and warned that should such incidents recur, the next step should be to cut off diplomatic relations with Sweden. He also called for the legislation of an “international” law according to which the desecration of things sacred to Islam, its symbols, and the Quran, would be considered a crime. Da’moush asserted to the West that the continued desecration of the Quran and the symbols of Islam, “will drag the region and the world into a large sectarian war.”[8]

Demonstrations in Lebanon (Source: Alahednews.com.lb, July 21, 2023)

Hizbullah Supporters Tweet: We Will Defend The Quran With Our Blood; Swedish Ambassador Not Wanted Here

Furious reactions to the desecrations of the Quran were seen on the Twitter accounts of Hizbullah supporters, who vowed to defend the Quran with their bodies and called to expel the Swedish ambassador and to cut diplomatic ties with Sweden. The supporters tweeted photographs of Hizbullah operatives pledging allegiance to the Quran, alongside hashtags such as #WeWillDefendOurQuranWithOurBlood, and #HusseiniyonDefendersOfTheQuran.[9]

A user named Hussein posted a photograph of a Hizbullah operative pledging allegiance to the Quran, and added a quote in English from imam Khomeini, former Supreme Leader of Iran – “my dear #youth! My #hope is on you. In one hand hold the #Quran & in the other weapon & rise in such a way so as to defend your worth, #honor &entity. Depredate them of the faculty to think or even conjecture a plot against you. He concluded the post with the hashtag, #WeWillDefendTheQuranWithOurBlood.”[10]

A user named Bint Al-Azhar tweeted a screenshot from a Hizbullah videoclip that documents the operations of the Hizbullah Alpine Unit. It depicts an operative moving toward a Quran that is being held out to him, with the caption, #WeWillDefendTheQuranWithOurBlood…”[11]

A user named Hanan posted a photograph of Hizbullah operatives holding copies of the Quran with the caption, “Sons of the Quran” and the hashtags #HusseiniyonDefendersOfTheQuran, and #KarbalaOurPathToAl-Mahdi.[12]

Several Hizbullah supporter on Twitter tweeted posts against Swedish Ambassador to Lebanon Ann Dismorr. A user named Ali posted a photograph of Dismorr along with her name and title and the names and titles of other members of the Swedish mission in Lebanon, with the caption, “Yes to the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador to Lebanon#AnnDismorr, and hashtag, #CloseTheSwedishEmbassy.[13]

A user named Fatma Ibrahim also posted a photograph of Dismorr with a no-entry symbol across her face and English, Arabic, and Swedish text reading: “You are not welcome in Lebanon.” She added the hashtags #WeWillDefendOurQuranWithOurBlood and #TheSwedishEmbassy.[14]