Protest in front of the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad over the burning of the Koran

Dozens of people followed the call of powerful Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and gathered outside the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad to protest the burning of the holy book of the Koran on Wednesday in front of a mosque in Stockholm, official sources said.

"The protesters raised copies of the Koran to confirm Muslims' pride in the holy book and rejection of the shameful act that took place in the Swedish capital after the government allowed a demonstration whose convener confirmed he would burn a copy of the Quran without being deterred by the authorities," the official Iraqi news agency INA said.

Several Arab countries, including Iraq, have condemned the act in the strongest terms, with Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit blaming Sweden for allowing the burning of the holy book and warning of the "results and consequences of this heinous incident".

An individual burned a copy of the Koran next to a mosque in Stockholm, in the first such act authorised by the Swedish police after the courts recently overturned an earlier ban by the authorities on security grounds.