On Tuesday, hundreds of Afghan men gathered in the city of Khost in the east of the country to express their outrage at the burning of the Quran in Stockholm over the weekend.
The incident occurred when Rasmus Paludan, a far-right politician from Sweden and Denmark, burned a copy of the Muslim holy book before Turkey’s embassy in Stockholm on Saturday.
Similar protests have occurred in several Muslim countries since then, and the Afghan men in Khost condemned the incident in their city, which borders Pakistan. Protesters in the city’s main square chanted slogans such as “Death to the Swedish government, death to such politicians,” according to an AFP correspondent.
Ibrahim Sayar, one of the organizers, emphasized that such actions “should not be repeated so as not to create hatred in the hearts of Muslims for other religions.”
Afghanistan’s foreign ministry also condemned the burning of the Quran in a statement released on Sunday, calling the Swedish government to punish the perpetrator and refrain from “such vile and provocative anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim acts.”
Demonstrations against Paludan’s burning of the Quran also occurred in Iraq and Pakistan, and on Tuesday, Indonesia summoned Sweden’s envoy over the incident.
It is important to note that since the Taliban took power in August 2021, they have banned protests that are not permitted by the regime, especially those calling for women’s rights to education and work.
In 2020, small anti-France protests were held in some Afghan cities after French President Emmanuel Macron defended the right of a satirical magazine to publish caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.
