An Iraqi man named Salwan Momika has caused a heap o’ trouble in Stockholm by putting bacon to a Koran and then setting fire to pages from it.

The trouble began yesterday, when Mr. Momika staged his protest in front of a mosque in Stockholm during Eid al-Adha, the solemn Muslim festival of throat-slitting. About two hundred spectators and members of the press gathered to see the Islamophobic incident (the original live stream is here).

Needless to say, all hell broke loose afterwards, culminating (so far) with the storming of the Swedish embassy today in Baghdad.

Below are two articles about these momentous events, both translated by Gary Fouse. The first article is from Aftonbladet. Mr. Momika is suspected of “incitement against an ethnic group” (hets mot folkgrupp), which is hard to make sense of, given that his action was directed against his own ethnic group:

Koran burner suspected of incitement against ethnic group

A man was taken into custody by police when he tried to throw rocks at a Koran burning that took place at the mosque on Medborgare Square in Stockholm.

Salwan Momika, who carried out the Koran burning, is now suspected of incitement against an ethnic group and violating the ban on fires.

It was the first authorized Koran burning in Stockholm since the Administrative Court ruled that police had erred when they denied permission last winter.

At about lunchtime, people began to gather at the planned site of the demonstration at Stockholm’s mosque on Medborgare Square in central Stockholm, where 37-year-old Salwan Momika was allowed to burn a Koran at 13:30.

Shortly thereafter, police took into custody a man who tried to resist.

“He tried to throw rocks, but he was stopped before he could throw them,” says the police press spokesperson, Helena Boström Thomas.

On a later occasion, the man returned to throw stones again. This time, he succeeded but was taken into custody quickly thereafter. He is suspected of attempted assault.

Shouted abuse

The organizer, Salwan Momika, comes from Iraq and wants to direct criticism at Islam by burning Korans. Before the acts, he told TT news:

“We come to burn Korans. We come to say: Wake up, Sweden. This is democracy. It is in danger if they say we cannot do this.”

During the initial part of the gathering, there were about 200 people in the audience at the location, including a large media presence, according to police information.

Several of the spectators were upset and shouted abuse at Salwan Momika and the aide who stood next to him.

“Terrorist”

Among other things shouted were “terrorist” and “skäll*, nobody can hear you”, but also insults, which Salwan Momika answered using his megaphone.

The 37-year-old played the Swedish national anthem, and waved the Swedish flag before he continued by tearing out pages from the Koran, laying bacon on several of the pages, and putting out a cigarette inside the scripture.

When he then lit the Koran on fire, one of the demonstrators shouted, “The Koran isn’t in your hands, it is in our hearts, we know it by heart.”

Passed out chocolates

Several people tried to calm the mood, which was tense at times, by passing out chocolates, among other things.

“It is my duty as a Muslim to participate here and show what our religion is about. I am trying to calm the mood, even if I myself am angry over this Islamophobia. But the right way to show what I feel is through peaceful actions,” said 35-year-old Husam el-Gomati, who on his own initiative bought over 6,000 kronor worth of chocolates to pass out.

“We usually pass out sweets on the Eid al-Adha holiday, which is today. We also usually grill lamb, but that might not look so good with a grill here, and there is a ban on fires, “ he said, laughing.

Incitement against an ethnic group

At 15:15, police reported that the gathering took place without disorder and that a report had been filed against the organizer, Salwan Momika.

In the report, there are two crime classifications, according to the police press release. Partially incitement against an ethnic group since the Koran was outside a mosque, and partially violation of the ban on fires.

Prior to the actions, police reported that Momika would be fined for breaking the ban on fires, but that his application for a demonstration permit could not be denied due to freedom of speech.

“Constitutional protection trumps the regulation on fire bans,” said the press spokesperson, Helena Boström Thomas to Aftonbladet.

The second article is from Swedish state TV, and concerns the storming of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad. Note the involvement of the notorious Shi’ite firebrand Moqtada al-Sadr, who for some reason was left alive after the second Iraq war:

Swedish embassy in Baghdad stormed

Sweden’s embassy in Iraq’s capital city Baghdad was stormed on Thursday. Embassy personnel were able to leave the building and get to safety, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“It is not so surprising, “ says SVT’s Turkey correspondent.

The populist and influential Shia Muslim leader Moqtada al-Sadr reportedly earlier in the day reportedly urged his followers to go and protest against Wednesday’s Koran burning in Stockholm. Afterward, those followers reportedly made their way to Sweden’s embassy in Baghdad.

“It is not so surprising. We have seen very strong reactions to the Koran burnings in Sweden,” says SVT’s Turkey correspondent Thomas Thoren.

Images posted on social media, which have not been verified, show a large gathering of people outside Sweden’s embassy and inside the embassy area as well. The storming reportedly lasted about fifteen minutes, according to the photographer from Agence France Presse, and ended after a security force arrived in the area.

Reaction to Koran burning

There have been many strong reactions and many condemnations in reaction to the Koran burning outside a mosque in central Stockholm by 37-year-old Salwan Momika, who resides in Järna and comes from Iraq.

“This has aroused sharp reactions in many places in the Middle East. We have seen public statements from Jordan; Morocco has withdrawn its ambassador. Iran has also come out with a statement, and Iraq has come out with an official statement condemning the burning,” says SVT’s foreign affairs reporter, Lina Malers.

Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also condemned the Koran burning during the day.

Personnel are safe

The embassy’s personnel reportedly have left the embassy and gotten themselves to safety.

“We are well informed on the situation. Our embassy personnel are safe and the Foreign Affairs Ministry is in constant contact with them,” writes the Foreign Affairs Ministry in an email to SVT News.