(Stockholm) Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson distanced himself Friday from the burning of a Koran on Wednesday in Stockholm, which raised a wave of indignation in the Muslim world, assuring that there was “no reason to insult other people.
“It is difficult to know what the consequences will be. […] I think we also have to think in Sweden. This is a serious security issue, there is no reason to insult people,” the conservative leader said during a press conference.
On Wednesday, Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee in Sweden, burned a few pages of a copy of the Koran in front of the largest mosque in Stockholm and during the day of Eid al-Adha, a holiday celebrated by Muslims around the world. .
The gathering during which this Koran was burned had been authorized by the police, in the name of freedom of expression. “I think that it is not because certain things are legal that they are appropriate”, however estimated the Prime Minister.
Despite this authorization, an investigation was subsequently opened for “agitation against an ethnic group”, due to the fact that the burning took place very close to a mosque.
Since this act, condemnations have flowed in several Muslim countries but also in the United States. In Iraq, demonstrators briefly entered the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday.
“It is of course unacceptable for people to break into Swedish embassies illegally,” commented Ulf Kristersson.
This episode could affect Sweden’s NATO accession process, which needs the green light from Turkey where the authorities have vigorously condemned the burning of the Koran.
“I think we have to focus on the right subjects. Now it is important for Sweden to become a member of NATO. We have important and vast questions to settle”, commented the Prime Minister.