How big a threat a Koran burning can pose to Sweden partly depends on how much attention the event receives, according to Ahn-Za Hagström, director at NCT.
– In this case, Sweden’s NATO application is a backdrop that can strengthen, she says.
An application to burn a Koran at a mosque in Stockholm on Wednesday has been granted. At the moment, it is too early to say whether the incident can affect the threat picture against Sweden, says Ahn-Za Hagström, director of the National Center for Terror Threat Assessment (NCT).
– The assessment we made is that this type of action can have a threatening effect.
How NCT assesses the threat profile of actions like this largely depends on how much attention and reactions the event creates.
– Korans have been burned on various occasions without receiving any attention, and that is a factor we take into account when making our forward-looking assessments of the terrorist threat.
The NATO application can influence
Previously, the Koran burnings in Sweden this spring received a lot of attention and led to extensive protests both in Sweden and abroad. Not least in Turkey, where Sweden is a hot topic due to the NATO application that has not yet been approved by the country. It is an aspect that can draw attention to a Koran burning, says Hagström.
– In this case, the NATO application process is a kind of backdrop that can reinforce a message. We have seen over the years that it is something violent extremists use. You place an event or a manifestation in a larger context to influence and polarize and get someone to do something.
Extra reinforcement
The approved Koran burning is planned to take place on Wednesday afternoon at Södermalm in Stockholm.
– For us, it is very important that you can exercise your democratic freedoms and rights, says national police chief Anders Thornberg.
The police are said to have called in extra reinforcements from all over the country.
– I have great respect for this task and we have great experience in the police and take great pride in being able to maintain the opportunity to express one’s freedoms and rights.
In the past, the police authority has denied permission for similar demonstrations with reference to the security situation and the threat of terrorist attacks. However, the decision was made in both the administrative court and the court of appeals in Stockholm.
– We have complied with the court’s order, says Thornberg.