Sweden: Man burns Quran outside mosque during Eid ul-Azha

Youtube


Sweden: Man burns Quran outside mosque during Eid al-Adha

Sweden has allowed another Quran burning to go ahead despite previous international outcry. The action is unlikely to help Sweden's NATO bid overcome Turkish opposition.

Two men stood outside Stockholm's central mosque on Wednesday and burned a Quran, following the go-ahead given by a Swedish court, to coincide with the beginning of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

The man who had requested permission for the action, a 30-year-old Iraqi refugee who wants the book banned, tore out pages from the Quran, wiped them on his shoe and set some of them on fire, Swedish public broadcaster SVT said.

Around 200 people gathered to watch, including counterprotesters. One man was detained after he tried to throw a rock.

Permission was given by a court on Wednesday. Sweden rarely bans protests, even ones that might be considered forms of incitement in other countries. The burning of the Islamic religious book took place during Eid al-Adha, one of the holiest days of the year for Muslims.

The book burning may further jeopardize Sweden's attempts to overcome Turkey's opposition to its NATO membership bid. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded to a previous Quran burning by saying Sweden should not join the alliance.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan condemned the act in a tweet.

What did Swedish authorities say?
The court had said that there must be a clear connection between security problems and the planned gathering. Police deemed this to not be the case, according to Swedish broadcaster TV4.

"The security risks and consequences that the authorities can see connected to a Quran burning are not of such a nature that according to the current law they give grounds for a decision to reject a request for a general gathering," the court said.

"Police authorities, therefore, give you permission for the requested gathering," it added.

Sweden's book-burning problems
The burning of the Quran has become a mainstay of far-right extremists in Sweden, with Danish-Swedish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan having made a name for himself with such acts. But Paludan was not behind Wednesday's action.

Although Sweden rarely bans protests, or book burnings, a planned anti-NATO demonstration that would have also included a Quran-burning rally, was blocked by Swedish police in February.

Before that, far-right extremists had burned a Quran outside the Turkish embassy. This led to Turkey canceling a visit by Sweden's defense minister to Ankara, and President Erdogan saying Sweden can not count on Turkey's support.

Source