The Swedish Minister of Justice, Gunnar Stromer, told the newspaper “Aftonbladet” today, Thursday, that the government is studying the possibility of changing the law to prevent people from burning the Koran in public places, in light of the recent similar incidents that harm Sweden’s security.
An Iraqi immigrant burned a copy of the Qur’an in front of a mosque in Stockholm last week, which angered the Islamic world and prompted the Pope to condemn the incident. Sweden’s security services said this act made the country less safe.
Police this year turned down several requests to organize protests that would have included the burning of the Koran, on security grounds, but Swedish courts overturned the police’s decisions, saying such actions were protected by Sweden’s sweeping freedom of expression laws.
Sweden’s justice minister said on Thursday that the government was analyzing the situation and considering whether the law needed to be changed to allow the police to reject such requests.
“We have to ask ourselves if the current system is good or if there is a reason to reconsider it,” Strommer told Aftonbladet.
He added that Sweden had become a “priority target” for the attacks.
And he added, “We can see that the burning of the Qur’an last week raised threats to our internal security.”
The incident also spoiled Sweden’s attempt to join NATO, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country could not agree to Sweden’s request before the incidents of burning the Qur’an stopped.
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2023-07-07 17:43:34
