The burning of the Bible and the Torah as part of a protest against the Israeli embassy in Stockholm was approved by the Swedish police on Friday, July 14. Stockholm police informed that they had given permission to a man who has stated that he intended to burn the Torah and the Bible outside the Israeli Embassy in the country’s capital this weekend as a protest. The individual mentioned he wanted to burn the Torah and the Bible outside the Israeli Embassy in retaliation for the burning of the Quran.
Israeli officials urged the Swedish government to put an end to the demonstration, which is slated to occur outside the diplomatic mission on Saturday, July 15. The Quran burning by 37-year-old Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika during recent anti-Islam protests in the country drew harsh criticism from Muslim nations. He tore up the Quran and set fire to the pages outside the central mosque of Stockholm on the first day of Eid-Al-Adha.
Three persons would reportedly take part in the demonstration outside the Israeli Embassy on 15 July at 1 PM local time (1100 GMT), according to an announcement from Stockholm police.
Notably, the Swedish constitution strongly supports and protects the right to organise public demonstrations. The blasphemy laws in the country were abolished in the 1970s. The authorities decided to grant permission based on their assessment of whether a public gathering can be held without significant disruptions or hazards to the public’s safety.
Stockholm police highlighted the distinction and emphasised that they “do not give permission for different actions. We give permission to hold a public meeting. That’s an important difference.”
Meanwhile, Israeli officials appealed to Sweden to call off the event. Isaac Herzog registered his sadness over the development and remarked, “As the President of the State of Israel, I condemned the burning of the Quran, sacred to Muslims the world over, and I am now heartbroken that the same fate awaits a Jewish Bible, the eternal book of the Jewish people.”
Permitting the defacement of sacred texts is not an exercise in freedom of expression, it is blatant incitement and an act of pure hate. The whole world must join together in condemning unequivocally this repulsive act.
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) July 14, 2023
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen commented, “Burning a Torah scroll is a crime of hate, provocation and serious harm to the Jewish people and Jewish tradition. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli ambassador in Sweden are working through every possible channel to prevent the despicable act.”
שריפת ספר תורה היא פשע שנאה, פרובוקציה ופגיעה חמורה בעם היהודי ובמסורת היהודית. משרד החוץ ושגריר ישראל בשוודיה פועלים בכל ערוץ אפשרי למנוע את המעשה הבזוי.
— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) July 14, 2023
Israel’s Chief Rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef, even urged Sweden’s monarch to step in and prevent the scheduled event. He denounced the same along with the recent Quran burning in front of the mosque in Stockholm.
He wrote, “By preventing this event from occurring, you would send a powerful message to the world that Sweden stands firmly against religious intolerance and that such acts have no place in a civilized society.”
According to the Council of Swedish Jewish Communities, “Our tragic European history links the burning of Jewish books with pogroms, expulsions, inquisitions, and the Holocaust.” The Council also expressed regret that the police had permitted the protest.
During Eid al-Adha last month, Salwan Momika burnt a copy of the Quran in front of Stockholm’s central mosque. The incident sparked widespread condemnation in the Islamic community.
Following the Quran burnings, the United Nation’s top human rights panel overwhelmingly passed a resolution urging countries to do more to combat religious intolerance. It was adopted despite opposition from Western member nations that worry that harsher government measures may impinge on freedom of expression.
