Swedish Jewish Community: Permission To Burn Al-Quran Is A Big Mistake

JAKARTA - Allowing the burning of copies of the Muslim holy book Al-Quran, in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, is a "big mistake" and the country's laws regarding hate crimes must be changed, says the Swedish Jewish Community Council.

The chair of the Community Council, Lena Posner-Korosi, told Anadolu that Sweden has laws on freedom of expression and protest, but these laws should not cross the line into hate speech.

Referring to the law on hate speech and crimes, she called it "horrible and appalling" that the law allows people to carry out acts that attack the Koran, Bible, and Torah.

Even though the perpetrator had legal rights, she said, the police should not have allowed the person concerned to carry out this act in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, January 26.

On January 21, Rasmus Paludan, a Danish far-right politician, burned a Koran in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm --under police protection and permission from the authorities -- sparking a wave of condemnation from the Arab and Islamic world.

“This action is clearly a provocation. He's free to do it in Sweden but he can't choose where it's done, it shouldn't be allowed. It was a big mistake," said Posner-Korosi.

Threat to Democracy

Posner-Korosi also said they must speak up as a minority in Sweden.

She emphasized that the incident was unacceptable and also a threat to democracy.

“We have to feel safe as a minority in a democratic society. We have to be free on the streets, no one is allowed to harass us," she said.

“This creates a dilemma, but we are side by side with the Muslim community and we will not give up. We will raise this issue again and again,” said Posner-Korosi.

There may be attempts to revise the law, she said.

According to Posner-Korosi, in the city of Malmo, southern Sweden, a woman was the target of a hate crime because she was wearing a headscarf and tried to remove the headscarf.

Posner-Korosi continued, a similar treatment was experienced by a Jewish man wearing a kipah (headgear worn by Jewish men).

"Hateful language is used against both Muslim and Jewish citizens," she said.

Posner-Korosi also urged both communities to report such incidents to the police so that they would be reflected in the statistics.

She regretted that Swedish society is homogeneous, which is not used to immigrants and minorities.

"When a hate crime is committed physically or verbally, it is not clear whether the perpetrator will be punished for sure," Posner-Korosi said.

"The police need to investigate. The law needs to be revised in the scope of freedom of religion and hate crimes against minorities."