Hezbollah supporters demonstrate outside a mosque in Beirut's southern suburbs, July 21, 2023. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — "We are all against what happened in Sweden."
The day after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called for demonstrations to be held after Friday prayers, hundreds of supporters of the Shiite party gathered in the southern suburbs of Beirut to protest the desecration of the Quran in Sweden.
At the end of June, an Iraqi Christian refugee in Sweden, Salwan Momika, burned a few pages of the Quran in front of Stockholm's largest mosque on the first day of the Eid al-Adha holiday, provoking the anger of millions of Muslims around the world, including those in Lebanon.
On Wednesday, Momika did it again — trampling on a copy of Islam's holy book, though this time he refrained from burning it.
Children, Quran in hand, demonstrate on July 21, 2023 in the southern suburbs of Beirut. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
This new provocation has rekindled the anger of Muslims around the world. On Thursday evening, Nasrallah called for the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador to Lebanon, and for demonstrations in the southern suburbs of the capital— the party's stronghold.
A man holding a Quran on July 21, 2023 in the southern suburbs of Beirut during a demonstration. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
"We are all against what happened in Sweden," said Ali Ghamlouche, 19, one of a crowd of demonstrators gathered outside a mosque after prayers.
"It's forbidden to attack the Quran and disrespect it. We're here to remind you of that," said 38-year-old Ahmad Hachem.
'Labbayka ya Nasrallah'
During the protest, Hezbollah supporters chanted religious songs. Others shouted, "Labbayka ya Nasrallah" ("At your command, Nasrallah"). "Death to America and Israel," chanted another group. Other demonstrators burned Swedish flags.
Demonstrators burn a Swedish flag on July 21, 2023 in the southern suburbs of Beirut. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
Women, and even children, also responded to Hassan Nasrallah's call.
"We respect freedom of expression, but it's forbidden to attack the Quran," said Oum Hassan Moughnieh, who lost her son during fighting in Zabadani, in neighboring Syria, where Hezbollah is fighting alongside Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Speaking through a microphone, a sheikh demanded the withdrawal of the Lebanese ambassador in Sweden and the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador to Beirut.
Military deployed in front of the Swedish Embassy in Beirut, July 21, 2023. (Credit: Hussam Chbaro)
Faced with this rising tension and fearing that events might spiral out of control, the Lebanese Army was heavily deployed to the Swedish Embassy headquarters in Beirut, in the capital's city center, far from the southern suburbs.
This did not prevent some demonstrators from staging a sit-in in front of the chancellery, Quran in hand.
But the situation remained under control, with no incidents yet reported.
