Baghdad: Iraqi football players held up copies of the Quran in response to the desecration of the Holy Book in Sweden.
A viral video clip and photos circulated on social media platforms showed that on Friday before the match between Al-Shorta and Al-Qasim, the officials and players raised the Quran with some kissing to show their reverence for the sacred text.
A group of fans held up a banner that read, “The Quran is our eternal law, and defending it is the duty of every Muslim.”
The gestures came on the heels of a provocative move approved by Swedish authorities that saw an Iraqi citizen living in the country desecrate and burn a copy of the Quran outside the mosque in the capital, Stockholm, on the first day of Eid Al Adha.
This action sparked condemnation and protests from across the Arab, with several countries including Iraq, Turkey, the UAE, Jordan, and Iran summoning Sweden’s ambassadors.
