https://sputnikglobe.com/20230705/fahrenheit-451-sweden-swamped-with-applications-to-burn-religious-scriptures-1111675980.html
Fahrenheit 451? Sweden Swamped With Applications to Burn Religious Scriptures
Fahrenheit 451? Sweden Swamped With Applications to Burn Religious Scriptures
Sputnik International
Sweden has long hesitated over whether to allow or ban the burning of religious writings, weighing free speech and religious tolerance against political gains and losses.
2023-07-05T13:15+0000
2023-07-05T13:15+0000
2023-07-05T13:15+0000
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Following the recent Quran burning in Stockholm, Swedish police have received three further applications to set various religious scriptures on fire.One of them concerns a Quran burning "outside a mosque in Stockholm." Whereas neither the exact time nor place has been specified, the applicant, a woman in her 50s, voiced her desire to perform the act "as soon as possible." When interviewed by Swedish media, she said that she stands alone behind the application and explained that she found last week’s protest around the world that engulfed most of the Muslim world "unfair to Sweden."The second application features plans to burn the Torah and the Bible in front of the Israeli Embassy on July 15. It was filed by a man in his 30s, who specifically stressed that this is a response to the Quran burning last week and called it "a symbolic gathering for the sake of freedom of speech."Lastly, the third application to torch unspecified religious texts on July 12 has been filed in the city of Helsingborg in southern Sweden.Swedish police confirmed the reception of the applications and said each of them will be probed individually to see whether they meet the valid regulations."Our view is that it may not be aimed at any specific religion, but is part of freedom of expression and the debate that is going on right now," Mattias Sigfridsson of the police department in Skane County told Swedish media.Internal and External CondemnationThe previous Quran burnings in Sweden have had political consequences and are widely believed to have hampered the nation’s NATO bid, having angered Turkiye, which already has beef with Stockholm over harboring what Ankara sees as Kurdish terrorists.Former Foreign Minister and Prime Minister Carl Bildt, a heavyweight of the ruling Moderate Party, said it was "unwise" to underestimate the seriousness of the situation that may arise "if this continues."Israeli ambassador to Sweden, Ziv Nevo Kulman said he was "shocked and horrified" by the new applications "be it the Quran, the Torah or any other holy book," calling the torching “a hateful act.”Earlier, the desecration and burning of the Quran in Stockholm during the celebration of the first day of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha stirred stern condemnation across the Islamic world.Sweden’s Self-Contradictory ApproachLast week’s Quran burning outside Stockholm’s main mosque by an Iraqi immigrant resulted in worldwide anger and protests. It followed a similar incident earlier in January in which Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the fringe, right-wing Hard Line party, torched a copy of the holy book outside the Turkish Embassy, which further exacerbated tensions with Turkiye and cast a veil of doubt over Sweden's NATO bid that hinges on Ankara's approval. In response, Ankara called the action "despicable" and said it will never bow down to provocations or threats.Since, Swedish authorities have rejected several other requests to hold Quran-burning demonstrations, as the nation's security apparatus raised the alarm over heightened security risks and danger to embassies abroad. However, a Swedish court in April subsequently overturned the police's decision in line with so-called protection of free speech. Having green-lit the recent incendiary demonstration, authorities later said they had opened an investigation over "agitation against an ethnic group."These inconsistencies highlight Sweden's dilemma between ideals of free speech and practical considerations of political gain pitted against each other. As an illustration of Sweden's ambiguous and indecisive approach, the country's own Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called the police decision "legal but inappropriate." Faced with a massive international backlash, Sweden’s Foreign Ministry belatedly called the desecration of the Quran, or any other holy scripture, an "offensive and disrespectful act and a clear provocation," which "in no way reflects the views of the Swedish government."
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230703/swedens-recent-quran-burning-to-further-imperil-nato-bid-1111633153.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230703/sweden-belatedly-denounces-quran-burning-after-international-backlash-1111632481.html
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burning religious scriptures, religious tolerance, free speech, sweden's nato bid, nato expansion, worldwide condemnation, hateful actions
burning religious scriptures, religious tolerance, free speech, sweden's nato bid, nato expansion, worldwide condemnation, hateful actions
Fahrenheit 451? Sweden Swamped With Applications to Burn Religious Scriptures
Sweden has long hesitated over whether to allow the burning of religious writings, with contradictory considerations of free speech, religious tolerance and political gains and losses all weighed against each other. This time, applications to burn the Bible and the Torah have been filed in addition to the Quran.
Following the recent Quran burning in Stockholm, Swedish police have received three further applications to set various religious scriptures on fire.
One of them concerns a Quran burning "outside a mosque in Stockholm." Whereas neither the exact time nor place has been specified, the applicant, a woman in her 50s, voiced her desire to perform the act "as soon as possible." When interviewed by Swedish media, she said that she stands alone behind the application and explained that she found last week’s protest around the world that engulfed most of the Muslim world "unfair to Sweden."
The second application features plans to burn the Torah and the Bible in front of the Israeli Embassy on July 15. It was filed by a man in his 30s, who specifically stressed that this is a response to the Quran burning last week and called it "a symbolic gathering for the sake of freedom of speech."
Lastly, the third application to torch unspecified
religious texts on July 12 has been filed in the city of Helsingborg in southern Sweden.
Swedish police confirmed the reception of the applications and said each of them will be probed individually to see whether they meet the
valid regulations.
"Our view is that it may not be aimed at any specific religion, but is part of freedom of expression and the debate that is going on right now," Mattias Sigfridsson of the police department in Skane County told Swedish media.
Internal and External Condemnation
The previous Quran burnings in Sweden have had political consequences and are widely believed to have hampered the nation’s NATO bid, having angered Turkiye, which already has beef with Stockholm over harboring what Ankara sees as Kurdish terrorists.
Former Foreign Minister and Prime Minister Carl Bildt, a heavyweight of the ruling Moderate Party, said it was "unwise" to underestimate the seriousness of the situation that may arise "if this continues."
Israeli ambassador to Sweden, Ziv Nevo Kulman said he was "shocked and horrified" by the new applications "be it the Quran, the Torah or any other holy book," calling the torching “a hateful act.”
Earlier, the desecration and burning of the Quran in Stockholm during the celebration of the first day of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha stirred
stern condemnation across the Islamic world.
Sweden’s Self-Contradictory Approach
Last week’s Quran burning outside Stockholm’s main mosque by an Iraqi immigrant resulted in worldwide
anger and protests.
It followed a similar incident earlier in January in which
Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the fringe, right-wing Hard Line party, torched a copy of the holy book outside the Turkish Embassy, which further exacerbated tensions with Turkiye and cast a veil of doubt over
Sweden's NATO bid that hinges on Ankara's approval. In response, Ankara called the action "despicable" and said it will never bow down to provocations or threats.
Since, Swedish authorities have rejected several other requests to hold Quran-burning demonstrations, as the nation's security apparatus raised the alarm over heightened security risks and danger to embassies abroad. However, a Swedish court in April subsequently overturned the police's decision in line with so-called protection of free speech. Having green-lit the recent incendiary demonstration, authorities later said they had opened an investigation over "agitation against an ethnic group."
These inconsistencies highlight Sweden's dilemma between ideals of free speech and practical considerations of political gain pitted against each other. As an illustration of Sweden's
ambiguous and indecisive approach, the country's own Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called the police decision "legal but inappropriate."
Faced with a massive
international backlash, Sweden’s Foreign Ministry belatedly called the desecration of the Quran, or any other holy scripture, an "offensive and disrespectful act and a clear provocation," which "in no way reflects the views of the Swedish government."
