Morocco to recall ambassador to Sweden after Quran burning row
Morocco is recalling its ambassador to Sweden. It follows the burning of a Koran at a demonstration in Stockholm.
The development came at a time when Muslims were celebrating the Eid-al Adha. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rabat called the action offensive and irresponsible.
The organiser of the demonstration – who’s said to be Iraqi-born Salwan Momik – is being investigated for incitement to hatred.
He was arrested and charged with agitation against an ethnic or national group on Wednesday after he tore up and burned a Quran outside the mosque.
Reports say the police also detained another person, an onlooker at the scene, after he attempted to throw a rock at the extremist.
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Swedish police have rejected several recent applications for anti-Quran demonstrations, courts have overruled those decisions, saying they infringed on freedom of speech.
A Swedish court had ruled the protest should be allowed to go ahead on the grounds of freedom of expression.
There has been widespread condemnation from Isamic nations including Saudi Arabia.
“These hateful and repeated acts cannot be accepted with any justification, as they clearly incite hatred, exclusion, and racism, and directly contradict international efforts seeking to spread the values of tolerance, moderation, and rejection of extremism, and undermine the necessary mutual respect for relations between peoples and states,” the Saudi government said.
