Mass Protest in Karachi Denounces Quran Desecration in Sweden

Video footage captured protesters burning Swedish flags and dragging effigies through the streets as they marched, carrying banners and placards denouncing the act. A protester expressed the anguish caused by the desecration, stating, “The way they desecrated it, burnt it, it was like setting fire to our hearts, our chests, respect and everything beyond that for us, they have burnt those,” Ruptly reported.

The demonstrators demanded severing diplomatic relations with Sweden and cutting all ties with the country. Another protester voiced their demands, stating, “We demand that the Swedish ambassador be expelled from Pakistan, the Pakistani ambassador in Sweden should be called back, all the associations we have with them, they all should be boycotted, and the diplomatic relationships should be terminated with them.”

In response to the incident, the Pakistani Parliament passed a resolution urging Sweden to take appropriate action against the perpetrator, while the Pakistani government designated the day as “Yaum-i-Taqaddus-i-Quran” to condemn the incident. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on the nation to register their protest, and various groups, including political parties and lawyers, have been demonstrating throughout the week in Pakistan.

On June 29, a 37-year-old individual named Salwan Momika, who had migrated from Iraq to Sweden, burned pages of the Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm on the first day of Eid al-Adha. The act sparked widespread outrage among Muslims worldwide and drew condemnation from Pope Francis. The Pakistani government, several Muslim states, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the European Union, and the Swedish government also strongly condemned the incident.

According to reports, Momika, who reportedly fled Iraq for Sweden, justified his actions as being about democracy, freedom of speech.