Sweden being disrupted, says Stockholm resident who protested Quran burning

STOCKHOLM (AA) — Sweden is being disrupted and played with like a toy by one of the perpetrators behind a recent string of attacks against the Muslim holy book, said Patrick Tovivanen, a Stockholm resident that police escorted away from a Quran burning over his protests against the event.

As Salwan Momika, an Iraqi-born refugee who desecrated the Quran on multiple occasions in recent weeks, was once again burning a copy of the holy book in the Swedish capital, Tovivanen shouted in protest from behind a security cordon surrounding him, but was promptly hauled from the scene by plainclothes police.

"Something ugly is going on here, and the Swedish system is being disrupted," Tovivanen told Anadolu on Momika's actions, which have sparked international outrage, especially in majority-Muslim countries.

Tovivanen said that regardless of their political ideas, people living in Sweden should not create chaos he said, stressing that actions like Momika's needed to be stopped.

At the scene, Tovivanen also voiced opposition to a citizen who defended Momika, saying: "You're an old man, you will soon be in the coffin. Are you defending the man who is ruining Sweden?"

Two other young people who loudly protested Momika were also detained by police and removed from the area.

After the protest, Momika left the scene in an armored police vehicle, accompanied by 20 police vehicles, 10 of which were also armored, and approximately 100 police officers.

Meanwhile, Stockholm police said Momika had applied for a permit to burn the Quran in 20 locations across the country within two months, and that it was highly likely that all of these applications would be approved.