A Swedish court and police authorities have given permission to anti-Islam extremists to desecrate the Holy Quran outside the main mosque in the capital city of Stockholm on the first day of Eidul Azha (today).

International news agencies and local media reported that the organizers said they would tear up and burn the Quran.

While Swedish police rejected multiple recent requests for anti-Quran demonstrations in the past few months, the court has overruled those decisions, saying they infringed on freedom of speech.

The appeals court in mid-June ruled that police were wrong to ban those, saying “the order and security problems” referenced by the police did not have “a sufficiently clear connection to the planned event or its immediate vicinity.”

Subsequently, the police have allowed the act to go ahead. Several police cars have been deputed outside the mosque in question, news agencies reported.

Although Sweden rarely bans protests, a planned demonstration that would have included a Quran-burning rally was blocked by Swedish police in February.

Before that, far-right extremists had burned a Holy Quran outside the Turkish embassy. This led to Turkey canceling a visit by Sweden’s defense minister to Ankara, and President Erdogan saying Sweden cannot count on Turkey’s support.

A different group of extremists

A series of protests in Sweden against Islam and for Kurdish rights have offended Turkey, whose backing Sweden needs to gain entry to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Turkey in late January suspended talks with Sweden on its Nato application after Rasmus Paludan, leader of Danish far-right political party Hard Line, burned a copy of the Holy Quran near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.

However, the latest event is being organized by a different group, not linked to Paludan.

Police said only two people were expected to take part in Wednesday’s act. One of them is Salwan Momika, who in a recent newspaper interview described himself as an Iraqi refugee.

He is said to be 37 years old.

He said in his application that he wanted to burn the Quran on the first day of Eid.

Anger against Turkey

Sweden sought Nato membership in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. But alliance member Turkey has held up the process, accusing Sweden of harboring people it considers terrorists and demanding their extradition.

This stoked anger against Turkey. However, the burning of the Holy Quran had already become a mainstay of far-right extremists in Sweden with several demonstrations held in the past few years.

Pakistan and several Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait denounced the January Holy Quran burning.

Despite the repeated desecration of the Holy Quran, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was still adamant that Sweden would be able to join Nato.

“Sweden will become a Nato member,” he said in an interview with SVT, albeit accepting that it might not happen by the time Nato meets for its next big summit in Vilnius.

“We’ve also said that we respect that it is Turkey that makes Turkish decisions and it is good we now have another meeting … and maybe we can address the odd question mark ahead of the Vilnius summit in that kind of conversation,” Kristersson said.

Swedish PM reacts to court decision

Following the court decision on Wednesday, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said he would not speculate about how the approved Koran burning could affect Sweden’s NATO process.

“It’s legal but not appropriate,” he said at a press conference, adding that it was up to the police to make decisions on Koran burnings.

“I believe we live in a time where one should stay calm and think of what’s best for Sweden’s long term interest,” Kristersson said.

With input from news agencies