Saudi Arabia summons Swedish diplomat over repeated acts of desecrating the Quran

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia said late Thursday it was summoning a Swedish diplomat to denounce the issuing of permits for protests that desecrate the Quran.

The foreign ministry of the kingdom said in a statement posted on Twitter it would hand the Swedish charge d'affaires "a protest note that includes the kingdom's request to the Swedish authorities to take all immediate and necessary measures to stop these disgraceful acts."

The move comes amid heightened tensions between Sweden and Iraq over a Sweden-based Iraqi refugee who last month burnt pages of the Quran outside Stockholm's main mosque.  Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE and other Middle Eastern nations condemned the incident at the time, warning such acts “inflame” the feelings of Muslims around the world.

In the latest such incident on Thursday, the refugee, Salwan Momika, stepped on the Quran but did not burn it.