Ahmed Juma wrote on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 10:14 PM
In a new provocation to the feelings of Muslims around the world, the Swedish police allowed the organization of a small gathering in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, where the organizer intends to burn a copy of the Qur’an and the Iraqi flag, according to the police and local media, on Wednesday.
According to the request indicated by the French Press Agency, two people intend to gather Thursday between 13:00 and 15:00 local time (11:00 and 13:00 GMT) in front of the embassy.
The organizer said he wanted to burn a copy of the Qur’an during the gathering, according to the Swedish News Agency, which indicated that he was the same person who organized the burning of the Qur’an in front of a mosque in Stockholm last month.
The Swedish police confirmed that the permission was not granted on the basis of an official request to burn religious books, but on the basis of holding a public gathering during which an “opinion” would be expressed in accordance with the constitutional right to freedom of assembly.
A Swedish police spokesman said that did not mean they agreed with what would happen.
The first copy of the Qur’an was burned last January by the right-wing Swedish-Danish extremist Rasmus Paludan to denounce Sweden’s request to join NATO and negotiate with Turkey for this purpose.
On June 28, an Iraqi refugee in Sweden, Silwan Momica, burned pages from a copy of the Qur’an in front of the largest mosque in Stockholm on Eid al-Adha.
The two incidents sparked condemning reactions in the Islamic world.
While the Swedish government in January and June condemned the “offensive” and “anti-Islam” actions, it does not intend to change Swedish law, which is more liberal than any other country.
On the other hand, the Swedish police can refuse to allow the demonstration if it threatens the security of the country or if it leads to acts or words that incite racial hatred.
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2023-07-19 19:14:00
