A small group of protesters in the Danish capital set fire to a copy of the Quran, Islam's holy book, on Monday, in another demonstration that risks adding to deteriorating diplomatic relations between Denmark and Muslim countries. 

The far-right group "Danish Patriots" organized the burning on Monday and posted a video on social media showing a man desecrating the Muslim holy book and stomping on an Iraqi flag. 

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it "strongly condemns, again, the repetition of the burning of a copy of the holy Koran [sic] in front of the Iraqi embassy in Denmark."

During meetings with EU ambassadors on Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said that such acts "have nothing to do with freedom of expression" and called on EU countries to "fight such racist acts and all those that incite violence," according to a statement.

Repeated Quran desecration 

The incident on Monday comes after a small protest group burned a copy of the Quran near the Iraqi embassy in Copenhagen on Friday, which set off violent protests in Iraq.

Nearly a thousand protesters gathered in Baghdad and attempted to march to the Danish embassy in the heavily fortified Green Zone, but were blocked by security forces. Denmark's diplomatic staff are said to have left the embassy on Saturday. 

Last week, a similar demonstration in Sweden, during which a Quran was reportedly stepped on, prompted the Iraqi government to expel the Swedish ambassador. 

Iraq's Foreign Ministry said Monday that these kind of acts perpetuate "the virus of extremism and hate" and pose "a real threat to the peaceful coexistence of societies." 

wmr/nm (AFP, Reuters)