Sweden police grant permit for Quran burning protest outside mosque

Swedish police say they have granted a permit for a protest where the organizer plans to burn a Quran outside Stockholm’s main mosque on Wednesday, the start of the three-day Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.

The police say in the written decision that the security risks associated with the burning “were not of a nature that could justify, under current laws, a decision to reject the request.”

The green light came two weeks after a Swedish appeals court rejected the police’s decision to deny permits for two demonstrations in Stockholm which were to include Quran burnings.

Police had at the time cited security concerns, following a burning of the Muslim holy book outside Turkey’s embassy in January which led to weeks of protests, calls for a boycott of Swedish goods and further stalled Sweden’s NATO membership bid.

Muslims are outraged by the destruction of their holy text and similar acts have in the past sparked violent protests.