Sweden Considers Fixing Burns Of The Al-Qur'an As Illegal Action, Citizens Support Ban

Swedish police illustration secures protests. (Wikimedia Commons/John Christian Fjellestad)

JAKARTA - The Swedish government is reviewing establishing the burning of the Koran or other holy books in the country as an illegal act, considering several such arson cases undermining Sweden's security, a minister said on Thursday.

Salwan Momika, an Iraqi immigrant in Sweden burned the Qur'an outside a mosque in Stockholm last week, along with Eid al-Adha, sparked the anger of world Muslims and Pope Francis.

Swedish security said the aftermath of the burning of the Qur'an made the country less secure.

Police rejected several requests for a protest permit earlier this year that plans to involve burning the Qur'an, citing security.

However, the court later overturned the police's decision, saying such action was protected by a broad law of freedom of speech in Sweden.

Sweden's Justice Minister said on Thursday the government was analyzing the situation and whether the law needed to be changed.

"We have to ask ourselves if the current order is good or if there is a reason to reconsider," Gunnar Strommer told the Aftonbladet newspaper.

He added that as a result of such incidents, Sweden had become a "priority target" for attacks.

"We can see that last week's burning of the Qur'an poses a threat to our internal security," he said.

The incident has also undermined Sweden's efforts to join NATO, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan saying his country was unable to ratify Swedish applications, before the burning of the Koran was stopped.

Separately, the majority of Swedish citizens believe that burning the Koran or other religious holy books, such as Bibles or Torah, in public is an illegal act, according to a new survey.

In a recent survey conducted by Kantar Public on behalf of the SVT public broadcaster, 53 percent of Swedish citizens agreed that the burning of the holy book should be prohibited.

This is an 11 percent increase since Kantar Public asked the same question in a survey for TV4 in February.Senior Kantar Public Prosecutor Toivo Sj.Green believes this increase was partly caused by international reactions to the burning of the Qur'an by some people in Sweden recently.

Meanwhile, 34 percent of Swedish citizens believe burning the holy book should be legal, down from 43 percent in February. While 13 percent said they were unsure or didn't know.

"Many countries are trying to take advantage of or criticize the burning of the Qur'an, which affects Sweden's interests and Nato's accession. I think it's one of the biggest reasons," he told SVT, as quoted by The Local Sweden.

It is known, the survey was conducted online and was followed by 1003 respondents.