Abraham Accords signatory Morocco recalled its ambassador to Sweden late Wednesday after a man tore up and burned a Quran, the holy book of Islam with government permission, outside the central mosque of Stockholm.
Up to 10,000 visitors attend the mosque for Eid celebrations every year, mosque director and Imam Mahmoud Khalifi told Reuters.
? Desecration of The Holy Qur’an in Sweden
?? Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan condemns burnings of copy of Islam's holy book, saying ''it is unacceptable to allow these actions under the pretext of freedom of expression'' https://t.co/nml0oxIi2e pic.twitter.com/TPuqfImWTS
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) June 28, 2023
The protester, identified as 37-year-old Salwan Momika, was given a green light for the desecration on June 12 by Sweden’s court of appeals to desecrate Islam’s holiest text.
Momika, an Iraqi refugee, also laid a strip of bacon on the holy book and wiped his feet on the torn-out pages in addition to burning the Islamic sacred text. (Similar to those who observe the Jewish faith, Muslims do not eat pork.) A second man who accompanied him addressed a crowd of about 200 through a bullhorn.
Despite the clear provocation, the event ended peacefully, according to Swedish public broadcaster SVT.
The desecration took place under police protection outside the central mosque in Stockholm on the first day of one of the most important Muslim holidays of the year, Eid al-Adha, the three-day Feast of the Sacrifice.
Morocco’s foreign ministry also summoned Sweden’s charge d’affairs in Rabat to express the kingdom’s “strong condemnation of this attack and its rejection of this unacceptable act.”
A lower court had overturned a ban on burning the Quran earlier in the year; in response to an appeal by police, on June 12 the court upheld the decision and ruled that police had no legal grounds to prevent public desecration.
“The security risks and consequences that the authorities can see connected to a Quran burning are not of such a nature that according to the current law they give grounds for a decision to reject a request for a general gathering,” the court said. “Police authorities, therefore, give you permission for the requested gathering,” the court added in its ruling.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan condemned the act in a tweet, saying it was unacceptable to allow anti-Islam protests in the name of freedom of expression.
“It’s legal but not appropriate,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Wednesday at a news conference. “We live in a time when one should stay calm and think of what’s best for Sweden’s long-term interest.”
Swedish police later charged Momika with agitation against an ethnic or national group, Reuters reported.
Earlier in the year, a similar incident was carried out by far-right Swedish-Danish activist Rasmus Paludan outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm. Paludan, who leads to far-right Danish party “Hard Line,” has been convicted on charges of racist abuse, according to The Guardian.
Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait condemned the January 2023 desecration, as did the US State Department.
At the time, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Swedish leaders, “If you do not show respect to the religious beliefs of the Republic of Turkey or Muslims, you will not receive any support for NATO from us.”
The decision to allow Wednesday’s desecration infuriated Erdogan and outraged others in the Muslim-majority nation, which has repeatedly held up Sweden’s application for NATO membership, filed a year ago, together with Hungary.
Acceptance of new NATO members must be approved unanimously by all existing members.
State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters Wednesday at a daily briefing that burning religious texts is “disrespectful and hurtful,” noting that what might be legal is “certainly not necessarily appropriate.”
Nevertheless, Patel urged Turkey and Hungary to ratify Sweden’s application for NATO membership without delay, saying the US believes Sweden has “fulfilled its commitments under the trilateral memorandum.”
