Koran burnings in Sweden, PM concerned

Sweden is a free country and as a result of that people in Sweden have the freedom to say and do things that wouldn’t be allowed in a less free society. Recently, an immigrant from Iraq decided to test the limits of that freedom by burning a Koran in front of Stockholm’s largest mosque on the first day of Eid.

Salwan Momika, is an Iraqi immigrant to Sweden who describes himself on Facebook as a liberal atheist. But he has also expressed hard-line anti-Muslim views and said that he was seeking to draw attention to the mistreatment of Christian minorities by Islamist extremists in some Arab countries.

“I am warning the Swedish people about the dangers of this book,” Mr. Momika said through a megaphone outside a mosque in Stockholm in late June — on the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha — before setting a Quran ablaze. “They killed Christians and took their possessions; they killed atheists” because of the Quran’s teachings, Mr. Momika said.

This month, he tore up a copy of the Quran in Stockholm before kicking it around with a second protester, although he did not burn the book.

Sweden announced plans to join NATO last year, along with Finland. Finland was allowed to join in April but Sweden’s entry was held up by Turkey over an issue involving Kurdish militants. Turkey only recently signaled it would support Swenden’s entry and it was expected that could happen as soon as this month. However, the Koran burning, which the government of Sweden condemned, may have set that back.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blasted Sweden for allowing the protest. “We will teach arrogant Westerners that insulting Muslims is not a matter of freedom of expression”, declared the head of state during a televised intervention, adding that he condemns this incident “in the strongest terms strong”.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also condemned the incident on Twitter: “It is unacceptable to allow these anti-Islamic actions under the pretext of freedom of expression.”

Washington joined in the criticism, while saying it supported Sweden’s NATO membership “as soon as possible”. “We have always said that burning religious texts is disrespectful and offensive,” State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

Morocco , for its part, denounced an “offensive and irresponsible” act, and recalled its ambassador to Sweden, according to an official press release.

Momika’s act has also inspired copycats. In Denmark, a small group called “Danish Patriots burned a Koran in front of the Iraqi Embassy. In response, protesters in Baghdad have attacked first the Swedish Embassy and days later the Danish Embassy.

WATCH: Hundreds of Iraqi protestors stormed Sweden’s embassy in Baghdad and set fire to the building. They were protesting a planned Quran burning in Sweden.pic.twitter.com/yjS3C3UaYd

— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) July 20, 2023

Thousands of protesters stormed the Green Zone in Baghdad yesterday in an attempt to attack the Danish Embassy in revenge for a Quran burning in front of the Iraqi embassy in Copenhagen earlier that day.

Sweden’s Embassy was set ablaze days earlier

🇩🇰🇮🇶 pic.twitter.com/0WocB1X1r6

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) July 22, 2023

There have also been protests in Beirut and Pakistan.

Muslims across Pakistan hold protests against desecration of Qur’an in Sweden Press TV’s Nasir Kazmi reports from Islamabad@mrshah79#BoycottSweden #BoycottSwedishProducts pic.twitter.com/X3hOmT3lER

— Press TV (@PressTV) July 24, 2023

Even Iran’s Khamenei got involved by demanding the “criminal” responsible be turned over to “Muslim countries.” Salwan Momika had earlier burned a photo of Khamenei:

It is the duty of the Swedish government to turn over the criminal who burned the Holy Quran to the judicial systems of Muslim countries.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) July 22, 2023

Swedish authorities also say that Russia is trying to capitalize on this chaos by blaming the government directly.

“Sweden is right now the target of influence campaigns, supported by states and state-like actors, whose purpose is to harm Sweden and Swedish interests,” the prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, wrote on Instagram on Wednesday…

In a separate statement, the minister for civil defence, Carl-Oskar Bohlin, said: “Russia-backed actors are amplifying incorrect statements such as that the Swedish state is behind the desecration of holy scriptures.

“That is, naturally, completely false,” Bohlin said, adding that such state actors were trying to “create division and weaken Sweden’s international standing.”

Unfortunately, we learned in 2015 when militants attacked the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, free speech can lead to a violent response from Muslim extremists. And with Khamenei and others condemning this, the possibility of violence is very real. At the same time, the number of requests for permission to burn a Koran in Sweden have increased.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said he was “deeply concerned” as more requests were being submitted to the country’s police for permission to hold anti-Muslim protests involving the desecration of Qurans.

“If they are granted, we are going to face some days where there is a clear risk of something serious happening. I am extremely worried about what it could lead to,” Kristersson told Swedish news agency TT on Thursday.

He warned that the Swedish Security Service had determined that while the country had long been considered a “legitimate” target for terror attacks by various militant groups and lone actors inspired by them, it was now deemed to be a “prioritized” target.

We will see attacks on Sweden as a result of this. The only question is how soon? On the other hand freedom of expression can’t bow to threats of violence or it ceases to exist.

Note: The photo above shows Bandladeshi Muslims burning the Swedish flag in 2010. Obviously this is not the first time Muslims have been angry about the country’s freedoms.