Sweden: Resistance as Extremist Repeats Quran Desecration (+Video)
According to Swedish media reports, a chaotic scene unfolded as perpetrators attempted to burn a copy of the Quran, while a large number of people, including reporters, gathered around them.
A woman with a fire extinguisher tried to put out the burning Quran, but she was arrested by the Swedish police, who allowed the extremist to continue his offensive act and make hostile remarks against Islam and the Quran.
The situation escalated around the embassy and the police intervened to prevent further violence and disperse the crowd.
The Police arrested the woman, who has not been identified, on "suspicion of disturbing public order and violence against a police officer," Associated Press reported, citing Police spokeswoman Towe Hägg.
The Islamic Republic of Iran had previously summoned the Swedish ambassador twice in protest of these heinous actions and announced that it would not accept the new ambassador who was supposed to come to Iran soon. The new Iranian ambassador who was supposed to go to Stockholm also halted his mission after the first attack on the sanctity of the Holy Quran in Sweden.
Meanwhile, Sweden’s security service, SAPO, has raised its assessment of the level of threat against Sweden to 4 on a scale of 5 amid mounting international tension over the burning of copies of the Quran at demonstrations in the Nordic country.
“The threat against Sweden has gradually changed and the threat of attacks from actors within violent Islamism has increased during the year,” the security service said in a Thursday statement.
SAPO said Sweden had gone from being regarded as a legitimate target for “terrorist” attacks to being regarded as a priority target.
Over the past month, extremist elements have subjected the sacred Muslim scripture to multiple acts of desecration in both Sweden and Denmark. In a contentious stance, the governments of these countries have defended such acts as expressions of "freedom of speech," eliciting worldwide outrage from the Muslim community. This backlash has led several nations to summon or expel ambassadors from Sweden and Denmark.
While the Nordic nations have deplored the desecration, they have justified their inability to intervene due to constitutional protections of freedom of speech. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has rallied its member states to explore appropriate actions, be they political or economic, against countries where such acts transpire.
Additionally, the OIC has urged global solidarity in opposing these provocative attempts, which have incited widespread offense and condemnation.
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