Copenhagen (Reuters) – Two protesters set fire to a copy of the Koran, Islam’s holy book, in front of the Iraqi embassy in the Danish capital on Monday, risking a further deterioration of relations between the two countries.
Protests have raged across Iran and Iraq after Denmark and Sweden allowed the burning of the Koran under rules protecting free speech. Protesters in Iraq set alight the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday.
The two protesters were from a group that calls itself “Danish Patriots”, which held a similar demonstration last week and livestreamed the events on Facebook.
Several thousand Iraqis demonstrated in Baghdad on Saturday over the burnings in the two Nordic countries, in a gathering called by ruling Iraqi parties and armed groups, many close to Iran.
The organiser of Monday’s demonstration in Copenhagen stomped on the Koran and set it alight in a tin foil tray next to the Iraqi flag on the ground.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that people who desecrate the Koran should face the “most severe punishment”.
