Arab, Muslim Governments, Islamic Institutions, Clerics, And Intellectuals Strongly Condemn Sweden For Authorizing Quran-Burning Event, Propose Responses Including Mass Protests, Ending Diplomatic Relations, Boycott, And 'Vengeance'

On June 28, 2023, Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee residing in Sweden, set fire to a copy of the Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm during the Eid Al-Adha holiday. This act has elicited strong condemnation from Arab and Muslim countries, Islamic institutions, clerics and intellectuals. They have vehemently criticized the Swedish government for granting Momika a permit and proposed various forms of action, including boycotts of Swedish products, termination of diplomatic ties, mass protests, and unspecified "vengeance." This report will highlight these reactions and the diverse range of proposals put forth to express condemnation and prevent the recurrence of such provocative acts in the future.

On June 29, 2023, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan blasted Sweden and the West over the incident and vowed to "teach the arrogant Western people that it is not freedom of expression to insult the sacred values of Muslims." Hakan Fidan, who was chief of Turkey's intelligence agency for 13 years before being appointed as its foreign minister on June 4, 2023, said that it was unacceptable to allow anti-Islam protests in the name of freedom of expression.[1]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the United Arab Emirates released a statement on June 29, 2023, saying that it has "summoned the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to the UAE, HE Liselott Andersson, to express the UAE's strong protest and condemnation of the Swedish government allowing extremists to burn copies of the Holy Quran in the capital, Stockholm."[2] The statement further stressed that "Sweden disregarded its international responsibilities and demonstrated a lack of respect for social values in this regard, emphasizing the importance of monitoring hate speech and expressions of racism that negatively impact peace and security."

In addition to government condemnations, Islamic institution, including Al-Azhar in Cairo issued statements calling for boycotts of Swedish products and urged governments of Islamic countries to "take a strong and unified stance against the violation of Quran burning violations."

On June 28, 2023, the Twitter page of Al-Azhar posted a series of tweets calling on fatwa houses around the world to issue fatwas deeming the boycott of Swedish products to be a religious obligation. Al-Azhar called on Arab and Muslim governments to "adopt serious and unified stances towards these unacceptable violations, which carry criminality and extremism towards Islamic sanctities."[3]

Calling for boycott of Swedish products, the statement added: "The Al-Azhar calls upon all Islamic and Arab nations, as well as individuals of conscience, to renew their boycott of Swedish products in support of the Noble Quran, the sacred book of Allah. This call comes in response to the repeated and unacceptable violations against the Noble Quran, and the continuous provocations that affect Muslims worldwide under the false banner of freedom of opinion and expression."

While the Muslim World League, another leading institution, also condemned the incident in a statement issued on June 28, 2023, its Secretary-General Muhammad Al-Issa, who is also the Chairman of the Organization of Muslim Scholars, disagreed with the call for boycotting of Swedish products. Describing the incident as "absurd and heinous crime," the Muslim World League's statement noted that it was "carried out under the protection of the police and under the claim of practicing freedom of expression, while in reality, it abuses, among many things, the true concept of freedom; which calls for respecting and not provoking others under any pretext."[4]

In a subsequent interview aired on MBC, Al-Issa called on Muslims to express their condemnation in a civil manner and voiced his disagreement with the call for a boycott of products from any country. He stated: "It is a decision relating to a public issue and should not be left to individuals or certain groups. This is a sovereign decision." Elaborating on his position, he highlighted that some of these companies might actually be against such actions and have already condemned them.

Al-Issa expressed concern that boycotting their products could inadvertently achieve the perpetrator's goal of provoking and escalating tensions. Additionally, he emphasized that boycotting nations, despite condemning the incident, may become less sympathetic toward Muslims if they are punished through a boycott.[5]

The Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi militias, also known as Ansar Allah, have called for an expanded boycott of products, encompassing those from the U.S. and Israel, alongside the termination of diplomatic relations between Muslim nations and Sweden.

In a statement released by the group's political office on June 29, 2023, the incident was denounced as a "hostile act targeting Islamic sanctities" and characterized as a "blatant provocation of Muslims' sentiments, supported by the Zionist lobby that controls Europe." The statement then called on "Muslim nations to end their diplomatic relations with Sweden and on Muslims to boycott Swedish, American and Israeli products."[6]

Gaza-based jihadi cleric Nael Bin Ghazi has gone to extreme lengths, suggesting that not only is the perpetrator endangering his own life, but also the lives of other participants and supporters, further warning of an impending "volcano-like rage" and "an unimaginably powerful wave of vengeance" saying that Muslims would defend the Quran and the Prophet with their blood.

In a video posted on his Twitter account on June 29, 2023, he said: "The heedless boy doesn't know that he is endangering his life and the lives of the participants and supporters and these provocative scenes will ignite volcanoes of anger within Muslims, unleashing retaliatory waves of vengeance whose intensity cannot be comprehended." Bin Ghazi then echoed the threatening statement of the slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden to the west in March 2008, saying: "If the freedom of your disbelief knows no limits, then you must also expand your hearts to accommodate the freedom of our actions."[7]

Muhammad Al-Sagheer, the Turkey-based Egyptian Islamist cleric and a member of the board of trustees for the Qatar-based and funded International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), has accused Sweden of being at the forefront of nations hostile to Islam. He emphasized the significance of boycotting Swedish products, stating that it serves as "the people's weapon" to express their stance.

In a tweet posted on June 28, 2023, he wrote: "Sweden has emerged as the leading country in the fight against Islam, as it has become the top European nation in child abduction from Muslim families through what is known as social services. Moreover, it has normalized the repeated act of burning the Quran, thereby challenging the sentiments of Muslims... Thus, the boycott of Swedish products remains the people's weapon to express their stance."[8]

In Iraq, a Twitter post on June 29, 2023, by the influential Iraqi Shi'ite cleric and political leader Muqtada Al-Sadr, calling for "massive and furious protests" in front of the Swedish embassy, resulted in the embassy being stormed by hundreds of protesters. In his post, Al-Sadr also called for the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador to Iraq and the termination of diplomatic relations.[9]

Al-Sadr's message was echoed by Qais Al-Khazali, an extremist leader of an Iraqi Shiite militia even more closely allied to Iran, who called on his followers to join the protest in front of the Swedish Embassy. In a tweet posted on June 29, 2023, Al-Khazali described the Quran burning incident as a "blatant display of Western hostility towards Islam and its sacred book, while the authorities watch, encourage, and protect such acts."[10]

Prominent intellectual figures have also expressed their strong condemnation of the incident and proposed several forms of reactions. For example, Kuwaiti writer Fahad Jawad Al-Arbashh who is also the president of the Restaurants and Coffee Shops Union in Kuwait proposed a three-day boycott of Swedish products.

He posted a tweet on June 29, 2023, saying: "We cannot claim to have an ounce of goodness or loyalty to our religion and laws if we do not demand that the MPs organize a peaceful campaign throughout Kuwait for a period of three days inside shopping malls, where we express our dissatisfaction, anger, and protest against these brutal racist acts that reflect hatred, animosity, and extremism towards Muslims.

"The repeated burning of the Noble Quran, coinciding with the blessed Eid Al-Adha, to provoke Muslims worldwide, and the silence of foreign countries under the pretext of freedom of expression, is the strongest evidence of these countries' support for such racist acts.

"Indeed, despite the magnitude and strength of these countries, they are cowards, and our alliance with each other will expose their limits and diminish their stature. They should pass laws criminalizing the burning of the Quran and attacks on religion, and our silence only strengthens them and encourages them to continue their aggression against our religion and laws. These acts are not individual actions but deliberate actions supported by states."[11]

Dr. Hamed Kalbani, an Omani doctor and fellow in the Department of Cardiac Surgery at Sorbonne University in Paris, posted a tweet on June 29, 2023, urging Badr Al-Busaidi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Oman to take actions in response to the incident.

In his tweet, Dr. Kalbani passionately urged the minister to "employ all necessary measures and diplomatic approaches to protect the Book of Allah Almighty." Deeply affected by the incident, he expressed his profound emotions, stating: "By Allah, our hearts and souls are torn as we bear witness to the Quran being subjected to such degrading humiliation.”[12]

Dr. Muhammad Al-Hachimi Al-Hamidi, the Chairman of the London-based Al-Mustakillah TV, posted the following tweet on June 29, 2023: "The burning of the Holy Quran once again in Sweden is not an act of freedom of expression, but rather a blatant and outrageous aggression against the holiest sanctities of Islam. It violates the dignity of Muslims worldwide, infringes upon the rights of the Muslim minority in Sweden, and threatens the principles of peaceful coexistence among cultures and civilizations. It is the duty of all Islamic governments to sever their relations with Sweden in protest against this heinous crime. It is through such firm stance that the extremist right-wing government of Sweden will be compelled to cease granting permission for such atrocious acts."[13]