The World Briefly

June 14, 2023

A Burning Faith

Sweden

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A Swedish appeals court ruled this week that authorities had no legal grounds to block protests involving the burning of the Quran earlier this year, despite police concerns that the planned demonstrations were a security risk, Agence France-Presse reported.

The case centers on two planned book-burning protests in February that came less than a month after protesters burned Islam’s holy book outside the Turkish embassy in the capital Stockholm.

Police had initially allowed Swedish-Danish activist Rasmus Paludan, who has been previously convicted of racist abuse, to hold the demonstration. But that incident prompted anger and condemnation in the Muslim world.

Authorities then refused to authorize two other requested protests in February, cautioning that the January protest had made Sweden “a higher priority target for attacks.”

Protest organizers took the matter to a lower administrative court, which ruled against the police action.

On Monday, the appeals court also sided with the lower court, 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.”

However, it added that the decision can be appealed to Sweden’s Supreme Administrative Court.

The January burning of the Quran particularly strained Sweden’s relations with Turkey, with Ankara swiftly condemning Swedish police for permitting the protest.

Stockholm has been trying to join the NATO defense alliance following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

But NATO member Turkey has blocked Sweden’s bid because of the latter’s alleged failure to crack down on Kurdish groups in the country that Turkey views as “terrorists.”

This story originally appeared in the June 14, 2023 newsletter, When the Levee Breaks.