Holy Quran desecration occurs in Sweden again

ISLAMABAD: Another incident of desecration of the Holy Quran has taken place outside the Swedish Royal Palace in the capital Stockholm amid a heavy police presence, it emerged on Wednesday.

The incident, which took place on Monday, marked the second time in a matter of weeks that Salwan Momika, 37, and Salwan Najem, 48, have desecrated the Holy Quran, Al Jazeera reported.

Momika, an Iraqi refugee based in Sweden, has been involved in multiple such incidents, the last being on July 31 when he and another man desecrated the Holy Quran outside the Swedish parliament. The act permitted under Sweden’s freedom of speech laws took place at Mynttorget, a central square surrounded by government buildings and the palace, Al Jazeera said.

Momika and Najem engaged in a prolonged theatrical and now familiar desecration of the Quran while using a megaphone to goad counter protesters, the report said.

It added that several people in the crowd brought their own megaphones and the two men were largely drowned out by counter protesters.

Present among the crowd was a group wearing firefighter themed outfits whose members chanted ‘extinguish the hate’ while handing out plastic firefighter hats and encouraging onlookers to speak into their megaphones, Al Jazeera stated.

Andaolu Agency reported that the perpetrators faced a reaction from a group of Swedish activists who asked them to stop the provocative act. It stated, “The police protecting the attackers arrested one of the activists who moved to thwart the attack.” The duo also staged a similar protest outside Iraq’s embassy in the Swedish capital on July 20 where they desecrated the holy book.

The incidents have drawn strong reactions across the Muslim world with several nations, including Pakistan, condemning the acts at international forums. Following the latest incident, former premier Shehbaz Sharif termed the act as highly disturbing.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he said, “The recurring nature of such reprehensible incidents establishes that there is a vile sinister and evil intention behind them that aims at hurting the emotions of Muslims around the world.”

He added, “Equally disturbing is the lack of action on the part of the Swedish government to check such incidents through strict enforcement of law. Mere expression of regret and condemnation is not enough.”

The former prime minister stated that the desecration of religious symbols, holy personages and books damages interfaith harmony that the world so desperately needs. Holy Quran desecrations are permitted in Sweden, Denmark and Norway but not in neighbouring Finland where desecration of holy scriptures in public is illegal. Sweden had a similar law but removed it in the 1970s. Sweden has laws banning hate speech against ethnic, national and religious groups and people on grounds of sexual orientation. However, the desecration of holy scriptures has thus far not qualified as hate speech but has been seen as acceptable criticism.