Thousands of followers of influential Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr demonstrated in several Iraqi cities on Friday, June 30, 2023, to denounce the burning of a Quran during a protest in Stockholm, Sweden, earlier that week. Many protestors demanded the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador from Iraq.

Demonstrations took place in Baghdad and Basra, where al-Sadr's supporters burned Swedish flags and LGBTQ+ pride flags, chanting slogans in support of Islam. A prominent cleric, Sayyid Sattar Batat, addressed the crowd in Baghdad's Sadr City, urging Iraqi authorities to expel the Swedish ambassador and sever diplomatic ties with Sweden if necessary.

These protests followed a Wednesday incident where an individual, identified in Swedish media as an Iraqi refugee, burned a Quran outside a Stockholm mosque. This act coincided with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, sparking widespread condemnation across the Muslim world.

Demonstrators in Basra, Iraq, raise copies of the Quran in response to the incident. (AP Photo/ Nabil al-Jurani)

An Iraqi security official identified the individual who burned the Quran as an Iraqi Christian who had previously served in a Christian unit of the Popular Mobilization Forces, which were integrated into the Iraqi armed forces in 2016.

Swedish police had granted permission for the protest, citing freedom of speech, after a court overturned an earlier decision to prohibit a similar demonstration. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested that the incident could hinder Sweden's NATO membership bid. Iraqi officials have requested Sweden to extradite the individual responsible for the Quran burning to face prosecution in Iraq. This incident follows a previous demonstration where hundreds briefly stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad on Thursday.