Sweden has been plunged into a deeper and deeper crisis because of the protesters desecrating Korans.
Sweden and Iraq have withdrawn their ambassadors to their home countries, the Swedish embassy in Iraq has been set on fire, and now Turkey has also started to harass Sweden again.
The crisis is not abating, because more people are going to continue burning Korans and other holy books. The tantrum over the burning of Korans continues to make new rounds on social media.
In this story, we find out the researcher of the Swedish Foreign Policy Institute Rouzbeh Parsi with the help of what jupaka is all about.
Who is destroying the Korans this time?
This summer’s crisis has been fueled by an Iraqi who moved to Sweden in 2021 and received asylum Salwan Momika.
At the end of June, Momika burned the Koran at a demonstration in front of a mosque in Stockholm.
On Thursday, he planned to burn another Koran in front of the Iraqi embassy. In the end, Momika was content to read the book.
A 48-year-old Swedish man of Iraqi background also took part in the demonstration.
Christian Momika says In an interview with Dagens Nyheter intending to continue burning Korans. According to him, the Koran is dangerous for Swedish society and should be banned.
According to the Iraqi media, Momika belonged to a Christian organization in Iraq called Syrian Hawks, which fought against the extremist organization Isis with the support of Iran. In Sweden, Momika has expressed her support for the right-wing populist Sweden Democratic Party.
According to researcher Rouzbeh Pars, the burning of Korans is related to Sweden’s internal political debate about where the boundaries of freedom of speech go and what is the role of religion or Islam in society.
– They want to stir up existing and imagined confrontations between the Muslim minority and other Swedes, Parsi, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the Swedish Foreign Policy Institute, says in a telephone interview with .
According to Parsi, Koran burners want to show that Muslims are intolerant. On the other hand, the claim is being made that in Sweden they want to burn Korans constantly and that the country is anti-foreigner.
Who else wants to burn holy books in Sweden?
Previously, Korans were burned in Sweden by a Danish-Swedish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan. The last time he burned the Koran was in January.
In Sweden, permission from the police is required to destroy holy books.
According to Dagens Nyheter a dozen people have applied for permission to burn Korans, Bibles, Torah and other holy books. Most of them have finally canceled their plans.
A woman’s application to burn the Koran is still pending, as is a man’s request to burn the Hindu holy book Rigveda in front of the Indian embassy.
The applicants justified their intentions mainly with freedom of speech. Most of them have some kind of criminal background.
Can the crisis still affect Sweden’s NATO membership?
President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in January that Turkey will not promote Sweden’s NATO membership as long as the burning of the Koran is allowed.
At the beginning of July, Erdoğan promised, despite everything, that Turkey would accept Sweden into NATO.
Researcher Rouzbeh Parsi says that the matter has not yet been fully resolved. Turkey’s pressure can continue until the Turkish parliament has accepted Sweden’s application.
On Friday, Turkey got involved again. It issued an arrest warrant for Rasmus Paludan, who burned Korans.
It has been speculated in the Swedish media that Russia might have instigated the burning of Korans in order to make Sweden’s NATO membership more difficult.
Rasmus Paludani has been found to have connections with the Russian mercenary army Wagner, which he himself has denied.
According to researcher Parsi, there are no indications of Russian influence in this corruption of Korans.
– You don’t need Russia to run this circus, says Parsi.
Salwan Momika, who defaced the Koran this week, says that his act has nothing to do with NATO membership.
Why is it precisely in Iraq that there has been outrage over the corruption of the Koran?
The burning of Korans has provoked the biggest reactions in Iraq. According to researcher Parsi, internal political reasons are behind it.
The protesters who stormed the embassy were a Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr supporters. He leads the largest opposition group in the parliament.
– He tries to show that he cares more about the interests of Muslims than the government. It has forced the government to respond more forcefully than it probably would have liked, Parsi explains.
According to Parsi, the situation on the streets or in social media is no longer under anyone’s control. The snowball effect has already partially started, that is, the crisis is expanding under its own weight.
– If someone gets permission to burn the Koran again in Sweden or elsewhere, it will inflame the situation even more.
What can Sweden do?
The Swedish police have tried to prevent the burning of Korans at demonstrations due to security reasons. However, the Swedish courts overturned this interpretation.
According to researcher Parsi, it is not realistic to expect that the current Swedish government would ban the burning of the Koran. The government remains in power with the support of the Sweden Democrats, who would not accept the ban.
However, according to Parsi, Sweden could discuss whether the burning of Korans could be restricted, for example, in front of mosques. In many countries, where and how you can express your opinion is restricted.
In addition, Sweden can try to explain in the Middle East the reasons why the burning of Korans can be allowed, even if the government condemns it.
– In the long term, we could discuss why Sweden is obsessed with burning Korans and why it is seen as the most important way to express one’s opinions.