Iran summons Swedish diplomat over Quran burnings amid Muslim outrage

Iran summoned Sweden’s charge d’affaires on Sunday to express its condemnation over the desecration of the Quran during Ramadan by a Swedish far-right group. 

Ramus Paludan, a Danish-Swedish politician who leads the far-right Stram Kurs ("Hard Line") party, said last week that he burned a copy of the Quran and planned more during a series of rallies in the Nordic country. 

The Iranian foreign ministry expressed outrage over the reported burning of Islam's sacred text and urged Sweden to ensure "similar atrocities do not occur again", reported the Tehran Times.

Iran is among a number of Muslim-majority countries, including Oman, to condemn the alleged burnings. 

"This regrettable incident, which was carried out under [the] protection of the Swedish police has marred the image of Sweden among Muslims of the world," said a high-ranking official at the foreign ministry according to the Iranian media outlet. 

In response, the Swedish envoy said he will inform his country's leaders of Iran's condemnation. 

Paludan was previously banned from Sweden after he burnt a Quran in 2020 but was given permission for a series of demonstrations over the Easter weekend. 

Muslims and anti-fascist counter-protesters clashed with the far-right at the rallies with three people and more than a dozen officers injured as of Sunday. 

Sweden’s Justice Minister Morgan Johansson defended Paludan's demonstrations as an act of freedom of expression and condemned the "serious violence" that ensued.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt all condemned the incident.