Sweden leader says “clear risk” of retaliatory terror attacks as Iran issues threats over Quran desecration

Sweden leader says “clear risk” of retaliatory terror attacks as Iran issues threats over Quran desecration

BY KHALED WASSEF

JULY 28, 2023 / 9:59 AM / CBS NEWS

Recent small-scale protests in Sweden’s capital that saw a man desecrate Islam’s holy book, the Quran, and the prospect of more such demonstrations, have left the Nordic nation torn between upholding its longstanding tradition of freedom of expression and safeguarding residents from potential retaliation from those offended by the acts.

The demonstrations have fueled anger in the Muslim world, and with officials in Iran calling for reprisals, the Swedish government moved this week to enhance its counterterrorism capabilities, instructing 15 government agencies, including its armed forces and various law enforcement bodies, to bolster security measures.

Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said the measures would enable Sweden to “deter and impede terrorism and violent extremism.”

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said he was “deeply concerned” as more requests were being submitted to the country’s police for permission to hold anti-Muslim protests involving the desecration of Qurans.

“If they are granted, we are going to face some days where there is a clear risk of something serious happening. I am extremely worried about what it could lead to,” Kristersson told Swedish news agency TT on Thursday.

He warned that the Swedish Security Service had determined that while the country had long been considered a “legitimate” target for terror attacks by various militant groups and lone actors inspired by them, it was now deemed to be a “prioritized” target.

Animosity toward Sweden in many Muslim nations soared in June, when a Christian Iraqi refugee burned a copy of the Quran outside Stockholm’s Grand Mosque on the day of Eid-ul-Adha, the most important festival on the Muslim calendar.

Two weeks later the same man, Salwan Momika, 37, who sought asylum in Sweden a few years ago, staged another protest where he stomped on a Quran and used the Iraqi flag to wipe his shoes outside the Iraqi embassy in the Swedish capital.

For the second time his actions drew scores of angry Iraqi protesters to the Swedish embassy in Baghdad, with the crowd managing to breach the compound’s perimeter and even set part of it on fire.