Countries Condemn Quran Burning in Sweden

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Facts

  • Officials from multiple countries have issued statements of condemnation in response to Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee who fled to Sweden, conducting a protest by stepping on a copy of the Quran and burning several of its pages.1
  • Swedish police had given Momika a permit for the protest – which took place Wednesday, the first day of the Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha – in accordance with free-speech laws, though they’re now investigating it for inciting hatred.2
  • Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called the protest “despicable,” Morocco recalled its ambassador to Sweden indefinitely, Iran's foreign ministry called it “provocative, ill-considered and unacceptable,” and Saudi Arabia said, “These hateful and repeated acts cannot be accepted.”3
  • Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Yemen, Syria, and Palestine all issued their own condemnations, with the US State Dept. also saying, “What might be legal is certainly not necessarily appropriate.” The US also urged Turkey to vote in favor of Sweden's NATO accession.3
  • This comes as Turkey has been blocking Sweden from joining NATO, with Momika denying allegations that his protest was an attempt to sabotage the accession. He added that he doesn't want to “harm” Sweden but rather “protest in front of the mosque in Stockholm, and … express [his] opinion about the Qur’an.”4
  • Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson also called the protest “legal but not appropriate,” with police rejecting similar protests. However, courts have overruled these protest bans on freedom of expression grounds.2

Sources: 1Euronews, 2BBC News, 3Al Jazeera, and 4Guardian.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Ahram Online. Most Western countries claim they respect different cultures and religions, but several European countries have recently seen an increase in anti-Islam incidents and haven’t done enough to stop them. More must be done by these governments to prevent the degradation of Islam or any religion.
  • Narrative B, as provided by CNN. Regardless of whether society agrees with Momika's message, Sweden is a democratic country and the police must ensure that people can use their constitutional right to demonstrate freedom of expression. Turkey must not base its decision over Sweden's NATO bid on this disgusting but unrepresentative incident.
  • Cynical narrative, as provided by American Renaissance. While the burning of a copy of the Quran is obviously a grossly disrespectful act against Islam, there’s a double standard at play that can't be ignored: The international community is quick to condemn anti-Islamic acts — as it should — but remains silent over the mistreatment of Russians over the actions of their government.

Predictions