The Swedish police have granted permission for a small demonstration to occur outside a mosque in Stockholm today, Reuters reported. The anti-Quran organizers of the demonstration have stated their intention to “tear up the Quran and burn it”. All in the name of “freedom of speech”.
This development could potentially complicate Sweden’s efforts to join NATO.
The series of protests in Sweden against Islam has heightened tensions with Turkey, which Sweden needs support from in order to gain entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The Swedish police initially denied requests for anti-Quran demonstrations, but the courts have recognized the importance of protecting freedom of speech and overturned these decisions. The police, in the permit for today’s demonstration, acknowledged that there might be some potential foreign policy consequences. However, based on their assessment of the security risks and potential consequences of a Quran burning, they determined that these were not significant enough to warrant rejecting the application.
According to the Stockholm police, only two people were expected to take part in the demonstration, including the organizer, Salwan Momika, who seeks to ban the Quran.
In late January, Turkey made the decision to suspend talks with Sweden in regard to its NATO application. This was a direct response to the highly controversial act of Rasmus Paludan, one of the political leaders who purposely burned a copy of the Quran near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. Several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Kuwait, also condemned the Quran-burning incident that occurred in January.
