Quran copy set ablaze outside mosque in Sweden under police protection on Eid day

By Atila Altuntas

STOCKHOLM (AA) – An Iraqi national on Wednesday burned a copy of the Muslim holy book Quran outside a mosque in the Swedish capital of Stockholm.

The incident took place outside of the Stockholm Mosque in Medborgarplatsen, where Salwan Momika first threw the Quran on the ground before burning it with insulting words to Islam.

The provocation occurred under police protection on the first day of the Muslim religious festival Eid al-Adha, also known as the Feast of Sacrifice.

Meanwhile, Stockholm police were called in outside the mosque to prevent any incidents in possible response to the provocation.

Mahmut Khalfi, the head of the Stockholm Mosque Association, rejected the provocation and police permission, saying the incident deeply upset Muslims around the world.

Mikail Yuksel, head of the Nyans (Nuance) party, told Anadolu that while the Swedish government is working on a headscarf ban in schools, the burning of the Quran on Eid hurt Muslims deeply.

The Muslim community in Sweden expects Türkiye's support in its efforts to combat Islamophobia and incidents involving burning Qurans, he added.

On June 12, a Swedish appeals court upheld a lower court's decision to overturn a ban on Quran burning, ruling that police had no legal grounds to prevent two Quran burning protests earlier this year.

In February, police refused permission for two Quran burning attempts, citing security concerns, after far-right Danish politician Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm in January this year.

Later, two individuals who attempted to stage provocative actions outside the Iraqi and Turkish embassies in Stockholm appealed the decision.

In April, the Stockholm Administrative Court reversed the decision, ruling that the security risks were insufficient to restrict the ability to demonstrate.