After Quran, Sweden Police permits burning of Bible, Torah in protest

By India Today World Desk: Swedish authorities have given their approval for a protest to happen exterior the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, which entails the burning of Torahs and Bibles, in line with a report by Sweden’s nationwide radio broadcaster on Friday.

The particular person who utilized for permission to carry this public gathering has been granted the required approval, as said by Sveriges Radio.

In response to this improvement, the European Jewish Congress (EJC) issued a press launch on Friday, wherein they expressed their sturdy condemnation of the choice made by Swedish authorities.

“Provocative, racist, antisemitic and sickening acts such as these have no place in any civilised society,” EJC president Ariel Muzicant’s assertion was quoted by CNN as saying.

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Muzicant additional emphasised that these actions, which deeply offend spiritual and cultural sensibilities, ship a transparent message of unwelcome and disrespect in direction of minorities. He added that these acts, based mostly on misguided arguments about free speech, convey shame to Sweden, and any democratic authorities value its identify ought to forestall them.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog additionally denounced the choice made by Swedish authorities. “I unequivocally condemn the permission granted in Sweden to burn holy books. As the President of Israel, I condemned the burning of the Quran, sacred to Muslims world over, and I am now heartbroken that the same fate awaits a Jewish Bible, the eternal book of the Jewish people,” Herzog tweeted.

In late June, a person burned a replica of the Quran exterior a mosque within the Swedish capital, leading to violent protests on the Swedish embassy in Baghdad. At the time, Swedish police said that the choice to allow the demonstration was based mostly on the appropriate to freedom of speech.

A police allow, obtained by CNN final month, indicated that the “security risks and consequences associated with burning the Quran” didn’t meet the necessities to reject the applying for a public gathering. The allow for the June demonstration acknowledged that Quran burnings carry an elevated danger of a terrorist assault and may have diplomatic implications.

However, it clarified that for safety issues to function grounds for refusing a public meeting, there have to be a direct connection between the deliberate gathering and the safety points.

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