The Swedish government is examining whether it could make setting the Quran or other holy books on fire illegal, as recent Quran burnings have damaged Sweden’s security, Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer told Aftonbladet paper on Thursday.
An Iraqi immigrant to Sweden burned the Quran outside a Stockholm mosque last week, causing outrage in the Muslim world and condemnation from the Pope. The Swedish Security services said such action left the country less safe.
The police denied several applications earlier this year for protests that were set to include burning the Quran, citing security concerns, but courts have since overturned the police’s decisions, saying such acts are protected by Sweden’s far-reaching freedom of speech laws.
Sweden’s minister of justice said on Thursday that the government is analysing the situation and whether the law needs to be changed.
Sweden: Pastors Condemn Quran Burning, Call for calm
Sweden considering making Quran burnings illegal
“We have to ask ourselves whether the current order is good or whether there is reason to reconsider it,” Strommer told Aftonbladet.
He added that Sweden had become a “prioritised target” for attacks.
“We can see that the Quran burning last week has generated threats to our internal security,” he said.
The incident has also damaged Sweden’s bid to join NATO, with Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan saying his country cannot ratify Sweden’s application before Quran burnings are stopped.
Foreign national arrested in Russia
A criminal case has been opened against a foreign national suspected of desecrating the Quran in the Russian city of Ulyanovsk on the Volga River, the local branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee said. He is accused of offending religious sentiments and hooliganism.
The man allegedly carried out the illegal act at a footbridge over the city’s Sviyaga River on June 1, the agency said in a statement on Thursday.
The investigation has found that “the 28-year-old citizen of a foreign country” stamped on the Quran, poured alcohol on it and then threw the Islamic holy book into the water, while filming the whole thing on his phone, it said.
Investigators will request that the man be detained pending a full investigation, the agency pointed out. A search warrant at his home has also been ordered, it added.
The foreigner can risk up to five years in prison in Russia if he is found guilty.
Local media identified the suspect as an Egyptian national who has been living in Russia for several years.
According to Argumenty I Fakty magazine, he was formerly a Muslim, but converted to baptism in his home country back in 2018.
He reportedly had to leave Egypt due to being persecuted for his religious beliefs there.
The story made headlines in early June after the man posted the video of himself desecrating the Quran on social media.
The head of the Ulyanovsk region, Aleksey Russkikh, took to Telegram on Wednesday to express his outrage at what had happened.
“Our region is multinational and multi-confessional. We respect each other, honour each other’s traditions, customs and we are very sensitive to the religious feelings of the faithful. This is a crime against all of us,” the governor wrote.
“In some other countries, such antics may be a perverse norm, but in Russia disrespect for the Quran is a heinous crime,” he added. (Reuters, Nord News)
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