Yemeni Houthis announce boycott of goods from Sweden

The leader of the Houthis, Abdel Malek al-Houthi has said that the Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah (Houthis) has taken a decision to boycott Swedish goods to the Yemeni territories under its control over the public burning of the Quran in Stockholm.

“If the Muslim states broke off diplomatic relations with Sweden and announced an economic boycott, this would have an impact on this country and served as a lesson for others. We do not have diplomatic relations with Sweden. A serious decision has been made in Sana'a to boycott goods coming [from the kingdom] or produced in its territory,” al-Houthi said, TASS reports, citing the Al Masirah TV channel.

He also expressed hope that "practical steps will be taken against Stockholm in the Islamic world at the level of breaking off diplomatic and economic relations," since, in his opinion, only statements condemning what happened are "insufficient" and "shameful".

The scandalous action took place with the permission of the police on June 28 at Medborjarplatsen Square in the centre of Stockholm. Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old immigrant from Iraq, tore out pages from the Quran and set it on fire. On this day, Muslims around the world celebrated Eid al-Adha, one of the main religious holidays. In addition, on June 28, over 1.8 million Muslims completed the Hajj - a pilgrimage to the holy places of Islam in the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.