OSLO, NORWAY – An Iraqi refugee in Sweden who stoked international outrage by repeatedly desecrating the Quran last year has been arrested in Norway and now faces deportation back to Sweden, according to court documents viewed by AFP on Thursday. Salwan Momika, a Christian Iraqi who burned Qurans at a slew...
Quran burner Salwan Momika says leaving Sweden for Norway
Stockholm, Sweden - An Iraqi refugee in Sweden who stoked international outrage by repeatedly desecrating the Quran last year said Wednesday he was leaving the country for neighboring Norway after Sweden revoked his residency permit. Salwan Momika, a Christian Iraqi who burned Qurans at a slew of protests in Sweden over...
Indian authorities tear down 600 year-old mosque in Delhi
New Delhi, India - Bulldozers have knocked down a centuries-old mosque in India's capital, a member of the building's managing committee said Thursday, during a demolition drive to remove "illegal" structures from a forest reserve. The demolition comes at a sensitive time in India with nationalist activists emboldened in their long...
Erdogan submits Sweden’s NATO bid to Turkish parliament
Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO members yet to ratify Sweden's membership request, which came after Stockholm dropped its long-standing policy of non-alignment last year after Russia launched its war on Ukraine. Erdogan agreed at a NATO summit in Vilnius in July to put the ratification of Sweden's membership...
Iraq asks Sweden to extradite accused in Quran burning incident
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - Baghdad has asked Sweden to extradite Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika, who stoked international outrage by desecrating the Quran, he and his lawyer told AFP on Tuesday. "Iraq wants him extradited because he burnt a Quran outside the mosque (in Stockholm) in June," lawyer David Hall told AFP after...Denmark to ban Quran burnings, national security ‘main motivation’
Denmark stepped up security earlier this month following the backlash, as did neighboring Sweden which has also seen a spate of Quran burnings in recent months. The Danish government intends to "criminalize the improper treatment of objects of significant religious importance to a religious community," Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard told...Quran set alight at protest outside Sweden parliament
Two men set the Quran alight outside parliament in Stockholm at a protest similar to previous ones that have sparked tensions between Sweden and Middle Eastern countries. Salwan Momika and Salwan Najem kicked and stomped on the Muslim holy book, then set its pages on fire before slamming it shut.Saudi summons Danish diplomat to protest Quran burning
During the meeting on Thursday with the Danish charge d'affaires, foreign ministry officials delivered a protest note urging an end to "these disgraceful acts, which violate all religious teachings (and) international laws and norms" and can "fuel hatred between religions", the official Saudi Press Agency said. Saudi Arabia and Iraq...Quran burning: Iraqis, Iranians rally as Swedish diplomats leave Baghdad
Baghdad, Iraq -- Demonstrators marched in the Iraqi and Iranian capitals Friday to denounce Sweden's permission for protests that desecrate the Quran, as Stockholm withdrew staff from its Baghdad embassy. Hundreds of people gathered in Baghdad's Sadr City after Friday prayers, chanting "Yes, yes to Islam, yes, yes to the Quran",...
UN rights council condemns Quran burnings despite splits
Despite overwhelming condemnation of the Muslim holy book being desecrated, the vote brought more division than unity as Western nations said that more negotiation could have resulted in a unanimous consensus. Pakistan and other Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries brought forward a resolution after an Iraqi refugee burnt pages...Urgent UN Human Rights Council session to discuss Quran burning
A Quran was burnt outside the Swedish capital's main mosque on Wednesday, triggering a diplomatic backlash across the Muslim world. Salwan Momika, 37, who fled from Iraq to Sweden several years ago, stomped on the Muslim holy book and set several pages alight as Muslims around the world began marking...
Saudi Arabia summons Swedish ambassador over Quran burning
The kingdom had already condemned Wednesday's incident in which an Iraqi citizen living in Sweden stomped on the Muslim holy book and set several pages alight. The foreign ministry summoned the ambassador on Sunday to urge Sweden "to stop all actions that directly contradict international efforts seeking to spread the...OIC calls for measures to prevent Quran burning incidents
The Saudi Arabia-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation called for collective measures to avoid future Quran burnings, days after a copy was torched outside a Stockholm mosque. OIC met at its Jeddah headquarters to respond to Wednesday's incident in which an Iraqi citizen living in Sweden stomped on the holy book...Dangerous provocation: Muslim nations condemn Quran burning
Under a heavy police presence, Salwan Momika stomped on the Quran before setting several pages alight in front of Stockholm's largest mosque. Police in the Swedish capital had granted him a permit for the protest but said later they had opened a probe into the man over "agitation".Quran desecration: Turkey, Indonesia summon Swedish, Dutch envoys
Swedish-Danish politician Rasmus Paludan on Saturday torched a copy of the Islamic holy book in front of Turkey's embassy in the Swedish capital, stoking the anger of Ankara which said it would not support the Scandinavian country's bid for NATO membership. Sweden's ambassador to Indonesia, Marina Berg, was summoned as...
Muslim world condemns burning of copy of Quran in Swedish capital
Secretary-General of the GCC Dr. Naif Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf has warned that the act would inflame and provoke Muslims around the world. He said the GCC stood for the importance of spreading the values of tolerance and rejecting extremism.
