Sweden gives permission to burn the KORAN outside the Turkish embassy because Erdgoan blocks NATO’s bid
A convicted far-right leader in Sweden has been given permission to burn a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm – as the country struggles to convince President Erdogan to let it join NATO.
Rasmus Paludan, 41, has permission to burn the book in front of the building on Saturday, January 21, to coincide with two related demonstrations planned in protest against Turkey.
Danish-Swedish Paludan said he wants to “mark some freedom of speech” after the hanging of a picture of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan near Stockholm City Hall sparked a strong response in Turkey. Sweden also condemned the stunt.
Riots erupted in Malmö last April after Paludan visited Sweden ahead of an election, intending to burn the Koran to drum up support for his movement, and earlier in August 2020 when activists burned the Koran after Paludan was arrested.
An image of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that sparked a strong response in Turkey
Far-right activist Rasmus Paludan burns a Koran during an election meeting in May 2022
The decision to allow the burning of the Koran comes amid strained relations between Sweden and Turkey, following the latter’s decision to push back on Swedish accession to NATO.
Sweden and Finland have applied for NATO membership since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but their bid must be approved by all 30 NATO member states.
The two Nordic countries still rely on votes from Turkey and Hungary, which Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has promised to deliver in 2023.
But Turkish officials said the image hung by pro-Kurdish activists last week contradicted an agreement reached earlier under which Sweden and Finland would crack down on Kurdish militants as both seek Turkish approval for NATO membership.
Sweden is home to a large number of Kurds, many of whom fled Turkish persecution in the late 1980s and subsequent crises in the Middle East.
Turkish Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu said Swedish inaction over the photo was “absurd” and that Sweden should not try to deceive Turkey by calling the act “freedom of expression”.
In recent days, the country has increased the pressure on Sweden, demanding 130 so-called “terrorists” are extradited to Turkey before the Turkish parliament will approve NATO’s bid.
The burning of the Koran in defiance of a Muslim-majority country is expected to provoke strong reactions in Turkey.
In April last year, 40 were injured during riots in Sweden after a demonstration led by Paludan, who was given permission to go ahead by the police, saw clashes with counter-demonstrators.
Four police cars were set on fire and at least five were injured as protesters threw stones and attacked police cordons.
Paludan led the rally in Sweden to rally support ahead of the September 2022 election and plans to burn the Koran during the holy month of Ramadan.
Rasmus Paludan pictured burning a Koran during an election rally in Stockholm, May 2022
A bus burns as police watch after overnight riots in Malmö, southern Sweden, sparked by an anti-Islam Danish politician performing Koran-burning stunts
Cars burn on the streets of Malmö, in southern Sweden, after riots sparked by Danish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan who was on a “tour” of the country in April 2022
Rasmus Paludan has been at the center of anti-Islamic politics in Northern Europe for several years.
He rose to fame with the launch of his far-right party Stram Kurs, which translates as “Hard Line”, in Denmark in 2017.
The lawyer and YouTuber is known for burning the Koran and for calling for all Muslims to be expelled from Denmark.
Paludan has previously said: ‘The enemy is Islam and Muslims. The best would be if there was not a single Muslim left on this earth. Then we would have reached our final goal.’
Stram Kurs has gained some ground in Denmark as the country’s traditional nationalist party, Dansk Folkeparti, has lost ground.
Paludan burns a Koran during an election rally in Husby, Stockholm, May 2022
Demonstrators and counter-demonstrators clashed in April last year at a Stram Kurs rally in Örebro
Dozens of people were also arrested in the cities of Norrköping and Linköping in April 2022, hundreds of miles north of Malmö (pictured), after similar riots took place there