On Friday, Swedish police confirmed they had granted permission for a protest that would include the burning of holy texts outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, prompting condemnation from Israel and Jewish organizations.
The contentious protest, slated for Saturday, comes only weeks after a man set fire to pages of the Qur’an outside Stockholm’s major mosque, sparking worldwide anger and condemnation.
According to the police application, the demonstration would include the burning of the Torah and the Bible, was in response to the Qur’an burning protest, and would be an expression of support for free speech.
Stockholm police told AFP that, in accordance with Swedish law, they only gave licences for people to organise public gatherings, not for the acts that took place during them.
“The police does not issue permits to burn various religious texts — the police issues permits to hold a public gathering and express an opinion,” said Carina Skagerlind, press officer for Stockholm police.
“An important distinction,” she added.
Several Israeli representatives and Jewish organizations, including Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, promptly condemned the decision.
“I unequivocally condemn the permission granted in Sweden to burn holy books,” Herzog said in a statement.
“I condemned the burning of the Qur’an, sacred to Muslims world over, and I am now heartbroken that the same fate awaits a Jewish Bible, the eternal book of the Jewish people,” the head of state added.
The World Zionist Organization’s leader, Yaakov Hagoel, claimed in a statement that giving the permit was “not freedom of expression, but antisemitism.”
In June, Swedish authorities granted permission for Salwan Momika, 37, to stage a protest in which he trampled on the Qur’an and burned some pages on fire.
The permit was issued in accordance with free speech rights, but officials afterwards stated that they had initiated an investigation into “agitation against an ethnic group,” citing Momika’s burning of pages from the Islamic holy book extremely close to the mosque.
In response to the Qur’an burning incident, countries like Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco recalled Swedish diplomats, prompting an emergency meeting of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The Swedish government also criticized the burning as “Islamophobic,” while emphasizing the country’s “constitutionally protected right to freedom of assembly, expression, and demonstration.”
