Qatar has summoned Sweden's ambassador to hand him a protest note over the desecration of the Quran in Stockholm, the Gulf country's Foreign Ministry said.
In a statement early on Friday, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said it would demand Swedish authorities to take "all the necessary measures to stop these shameful acts."
Saudi Arabia also summoned the Swedish charge d'affaires in Riyadh and handed a note of protest over the desecration of the Quran, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Riyadh denounced "repeated and irresponsible actions of the Swedish authorities" who often authorise extremists to burn and desecrate copies of the holy Quran.
The kingdom also condemned a planned burning of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, in Stockholm, the statement added.
It comes after Iraqi protesters torched the Swedish embassy and Baghdad ordered the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador from Iraq and the withdrawal of the Iraqi charge d'affaires from Sweden after an extremist desecrated the Quran in Stockholm.
Strong condemnation
The Iraqi announcement came after two extremists gathered on a lawn about 100 metres from the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm.
One of them, identified by Swedish media as Salwan Momika, an Iraqi extremist Christian living in Sweden, stepped on and kicked a copy of the Quran, but didn't set it on fire.
Momika who had burned the holy Quran under police protection in front of the Stockholm Mosque on June 28, on the first day of Eid al Adha, also stepped on and kicked an Iraqi flag during the latest incident.
"We condemn in the strongest terms the despicable attack targeting our holy book, the Quran, in front of the Iraqi Embassy in Stockholm," a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement read.
Iran's Foreign Ministry also summoned Sweden’s ambassador in Tehran to "strongly protest against the desecration of the holy Quran," state media reported.
Also reacting, the leader of Lebanese group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, called on Arab and Islamic nations to follow Iraq's steps and expel Swedish ambassadors from their countries and withdraw their ambassadors from Sweden over a planned Quran burning in Stockholm.
Nasrallah also called on Muslims to massively attend Friday prayers and sit in front of mosques while "embracing the Quran."
UN chief reacts
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed solidarity with the worldwide Muslim community during a meeting with the Ambassadorial Group of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The meeting on Thursday came in the wake of the desecration of the Quran in Sweden.
Guterres condemned acts of intolerance, violence and Islamophobia, which exacerbate tensions and contribute to discrimination and radicalization, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
He also expressed the determination of the UN to fully implement the Human Rights Council Resolution on “countering religious hatred constituting incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.”
Sweden has faced severe backlash from Muslim nations over the desecration of the Quran. Hundreds of Iraqis stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad and set it ablaze on Thursday in protest against burning of the Muslim holy book.
Before that, a widespread condemnation from across the Islamic world, including Türkiye, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Senegal, Morocco, and Mauritania was elicited over the burning of the Quran last month, an act the Swedish authorities permitted.
Thousands protested in Pakistan and Iraq, Morocco recalled its envoy to Sweden, Iran delayed appointing a new ambassador to Sweden, and other countries denounced the act in protest against Stockholm.
