A moment of the June 28 demonstration (Caisa Rasmussen/TT via ZUMA Press)
The Swedish government has condemned the demonstration that took place in front of the main mosque in Stockholm on Wednesday, June 28, at which a man burned a copy of the Koran, Islam’s holy text. The man had also put a piece of bacon in the book (pigs are considered unclean by Muslims) and tore out some pages. The demonstration, which was authorized by the Swedish police following the intervention of a judge, triggered violent protests throughout the Islamic world. Official reactions have come from the governments of Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Jordan and Turkey, among others.
“The Swedish government is fully aware that the Islamophobic acts committed by some individuals during demonstrations in Sweden could be an offense to Muslims,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. “We strongly condemn these measures as they in no way reflect the views of the Swedish government.” The ministry adds that the burning of the Koran is “a clear provocation” and that these expressions of racism and intolerance “are unacceptable in Sweden or in have no place in Europe”.
The request to organize the demonstration in Stockholm was submitted in February by Salwan Momika, a man of Iraqi origin with asylum seeker status who lives in Sweden: Momika had said he wanted to burn the Koran publicly because he believed the book was “a danger”. for democratic laws and for Swedish and human values.”
Swedish police said they authorized Wednesday morning’s demonstration. The demonstration was initially banned by police over potential security risks, but two weeks ago a Swedish court decided to overturn the police decision after Momika appealed, arguing that the security risks were not enough to justify the right to hold the demonstration burn, prevent Koran. There was a fear that the burning of the Koran would lead to riots and incidents around the mosque: a protest demonstration did take place, albeit on a rather small scale. Some people tried to throw stones at Momika but were stopped by the police.
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