After contentious protests in Sweden, where copies of the Islamic religious text the Quran were set on fire, three new applications have apparently been lodged with the police requesting the burning of more such books. Two were reportedly made in Stockholm and one in Helsingborg.
One of the three requests is said to be a bid to allow further Quran burning, where the applicant reportedly wants it to be granted “as fast as possible. Outside a Mosque in the coming weeks”.
The person lodging the request is said to be a 50-year-old woman, apparently reacting against what she saw as worldwide protests targeting Sweden.
Another application, slated for July 15, aims to burn a Torah and a Bible in front of the embassy of Israel. A man in his thirties said to be behind the move claimed it is a “symbolical meeting to support free speech” but also admitted it is in reaction to an earlier Quran burning in Sweden, according to reports. Less is known about the third request in Helsingborg.
“Each application is examined individually to see if the conditions are met as per the Public Order Act,” the police told media.
Sweden has seen a number of incidents involving the Quran being set on fire, with notorioua anti-Islam activist Rasmus Paludan being seen as a main player, provoking several riots.
The incidents are causing diplomatic problems for Sweden; its relationship with Turkey is disintegrating, for example, thus hampering that country’s hoped-for accession to NATO.
The latest holy book-burning occurred last week. On June 28, a disgruntled 37-year-old Iraqi refugee in Sweden, a member of his home country’s Christian minority, burned a Quran outside a mosque in southern Stockholm.
That coincided with the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. It caused huge uproar in his home country, with an angry crowd even storming the Swedish embassy in Baghdad.
Muslim protesters stormed the compound of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad after a Quran was burned by an Iraqi in Stockholm. The Quran-burning event sparked rioting in Sweden & has created a diplomatic row with Muslim countries. https://t.co/lvn9kv8FGj
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) June 29, 2023
In the Stockholm event, the man stamped on the book and placed bacon – the consumption of which is forbidden in Islam – between the pages, before lighting it and kicking it around while waving the Swedish flag.
The Swedish authorities have been urged by the Iraqi Government, foreign ministry and judiciary to extradite him, enabling prosecutors to, in their eyes, ensure justice is served.
Christian leaders in Iraq swiftly denounced the man’s actions, emphasising that such outrages aim to disrupt the already vulnerable social and religious structure of the Middle Eastern nation that has experienced many years of conflict.
Swedish courts say freedom of speech trumps religious sensitivities, although some question that, citing public safety and national security concerns.
The Swedish former foreign affairs minister Carl Bildt said the burning of the Quran was “despicable in every way and it shouldn’t have been allowed”.
Likewise, the Israeli ambassador in Sweden said he was “shocked and horrified by the prospect of the burning of more books in Sweden, be it the Koran, the Torah or any other holy book”.
“This is clearly an act of hatred that must be stopped.”
Leaders of countries including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco have now summoned Swedish ambassadors there to express outrage at the latest events.
