Peaceful protestors denounce Quran desecration across Lebanon

Protesters took to the streets across Lebanon Friday to denounce Sweden's permission for a protest that desecrated the Quran.

In the southern suburbs of Beirut, thousands gathered at the protest, brandishing copies of the holy book and chanting “with our blood, we protect the Quran.” Some burned Swedish flags.

People also gathered in the South and in Baalbek outside mosques after Friday prayers.

Hezbollah had called for a demonstration Friday afternoon, and its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah invited in a video address Thursday night "brothers and sisters in all neighborhoods and villages to attend all mosques, carrying their Qurans," as he called on the state to take a stance toward Sweden.

On Friday “the whole world must see how we embrace our Quran, and the whole world must see how we protect our Quran with our blood,” he said.

Army troops were deployed near Sweden's embassy in Beirut Friday, but only few protested there.

Protesters also took to the streets of the Iraqi and Iranian capitals Friday. The rallies came 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, then again on Thursday stepped on the Quran without burning it.

Iraq expelled its ambassador and regional powerhouses Saudi Arabia and Iran announced in separate statements late Thursday they had summoned Swedish diplomats to protest the permission Stockholm had granted to Momika's actions on free speech grounds.

Nasrallah also called on Thursday for the expulsion of the Swedish envoy and the recall of Lebanon's ambassador to Sweden.

"It's the minimum required," he said.

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry condemned the desecration of the Quran. In a statement Friday, it called on the Swedish authorities to put an end to any act that would incite violence, offend religions and deepen feelings of hatred, Islamophobia, and racism.