Koran set alight at protest outside Swedish parliament
Two men set the Koran alight outside parliament in Stockholm on Monday, at a protest similar to previous ones that have sparked tensions between Sweden and Muslim nations. Salwan Momika and Salwan Najem stomped on the Muslim holy book, set its pages ablaze before slamming it shut, as they did at a protest outside Stockholm's main mosque in June – sparking outrage across the Middle East. The duo also staged a similar protest outside Iraq's embassy in Stockholm on July 20, where they stomped on the religious text but did not burn it. Swedish police granted a permit for the protest by campaigners hoping to see the Koran banned in the country. "I want to protest in front in front of Sweden's parliament and demand that the Koran be banned," organiser Najem wrote in the application,  adding that he would "burn the Koran there." As at earlier protests, Momika and Najem were the only participants, with a small group of counter-protesters gathering outside the police cordon. Around a dozen counter-protesters held up copies of the Koran, with some waving Iraqi flags, and shouted at Momika, who just as at earlier events wore sunglasses and grinned defiantly while taunting them. Mats Eriksson, a spokesman for Stockholm police, said the event "had been conducted without any serious public order disturbances." During the protest Momika also stomped on a picture of Shiite Muslim cleric and political leader Moqtada Sadr – whose followers had stormed Sweden's embassy in Baghdad in response to previous desecrations. They had started fires within the compound the night before the July protest. The Iraqi prime minister and president "vehemently condemned the repeated acts of desecration" of the Koran. They called on the countries where the attacks took place to take a "firmer position and put an end to these criminal practices." (AFP)