The Quran, the holy book of Muslims, was set on fire on Wednesday in Sweden on the occasion of Bakrid. A man tore up a Koran and then burned it outside Stockholm’s central mosque on Wednesday.
There is a lot of anger in Islamic countries against Sweden after the Koran burning incident and after this it is believed that Sweden’s attempt to join NATO is going to suffer a major setback. Turkey is now unlikely to support Sweden’s bid to join NATO.
Quran burnt in Sweden
Since the rise of Muslim fundamentalists in Sweden and the Nordic countries, anger against Muslims has been increasing and in Sweden as well as in many Nordic countries, people are now openly taking to the streets against Islamic fundamentalists.
People allege that the Muslims, who came as refugees, are now getting involved in religious conversion in the country and are gradually demanding to make laws according to Sharia. For the last few years, there has been an emergence of many right-wing leaders in Sweden as well as Nordic countries, who have raised their voice against radical Muslims.
A day earlier in Sweden, the court rejected the police ban, which banned the burning of the Quran. The Swedish court, in its decision, told the police’s restriction against the freedom of speech of the people. Following the order of the court, the Swedish police gave permission to burn the Quran. After which the Quran has been burnt outside Stockholm’s central mosque.
Who was the person who burnt the Quran?
According to the report, the person who burnt the Quran, his name is Salwan Momika and he is originally from Iraq. In the video of Quran burning that is going viral, Salwan Momika can be seen repeatedly tearing pages of the Quran while wearing airpods in his ears and a cigarette hanging from his mouth.
At the same time, at the time of this incident, the national anthem of Sweden was being played there and after tearing several pages of Quran, the accused set it on fire. Salwan Momika is a displaced person from Iraq who has come to Sweden after ISIS terrorists forced him to leave his home.
Salwan Momika demands banning of Quran in Sweden.
At the same time, Turkey has said that it is spreading hatred against Islam in the name of freedom of expression and it is surprising to allow the burning of Quran. At the same time, along with Saudi Arabia, America has also condemned the incident of Quran burning. US State Department Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel said that “the US finds this incident appalling and sad”.
Sweden sought NATO membership last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But coalition member Turkey has blocked the process, accusing Sweden of harboring people Turkey considers terrorists and seeking their extradition.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan condemned the act in a tweet, and said it was unacceptable to allow anti-Islamic protests in the name of freedom of expression.