A planned burning of copies of the Bible and Torah in Sweden was called off at short notice. With the announcement, he wanted to condemn those who burn books like the Koran in the Scandinavian country, the 32-year-old Muslim candidate told a demonstration in Stockholm on Saturday. According to the police report, copies of Christian and Jewish scriptures were set on fire at the meeting.
Incineration canceled by the organizer: “against the Koran”
The applicant, Ahmed A., told journalists that burning a holy book was “against the Qur’an” and that he would not do so. “No one is allowed to do that.”
Swedish police approved the demonstration outside the Israeli embassy on Friday. The approval received fierce criticism in Israel and among Jewish organizations.
➤ Read more: Police allow public Quran burning in front of a mosque
“I want to show that freedom of expression has limits that must be taken into account,” said Syrian Ahmed A, who lives in Sweden. “I want to show that we have to respect each other, we live in the same society. When I burn the Torah, another the Bible, another the Koran, there will be war here. I wanted to show that it is not right to do that.”
➤ More: Stockholm condemns Koran burning as ‘Islamophobic’ act
In late June, Swedish authorities approved a lawsuit by an Iraqi who had fled to Sweden, which triggered violent protests across the Muslim world. The 37-year-old man stepped on a copy of the Quran several times on the first day of the Islamic Festival of Sacrifice in Stockholm. He then placed strips of ham, which Muslims consider unclean, in the book and burned some of its pages. Previously, right-wing extremist Rasmus Paludan burned a Koran at a demonstration in Stockholm in January.
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Swedish police have emphasized that allowing a demonstration does not constitute formal permission to burn deeds. However, Swedish law does not prohibit the burning of such books. The police can ban a demonstration if it jeopardizes security or opens up space for actions or words that incite racial hatred.