Possible terrorist attack, US-UK warns Sweden, tension due to Quran burning incidents

Another incident of desecration of the Holy Quran took place outside the Swedish Royal Palace in the capital Stockholm amid heavy police presence. According to the report of Al Jazeera, the incident happened on Monday. This is the second time in as many weeks that 37-year-old Salwan Momika and 48-year-old Salwan Najam have insulted the Holy Quran. Momika, an Iraqi refugee living in Sweden, has been involved in several such incidents, the last one on July 31, when he and another man desecrated the Holy Quran outside the Swedish Parliament. Al Jazeera said the act took place at Mynttorget, permitted under Sweden’s freedom of speech laws.

The report states that Momika and Najem engaged in the prolonged, dramatic and now familiar Quranic insults, using megaphones to exhort the counter-protesters. Britain has warned its citizens traveling to Sweden of possible terrorist attacks after Qurans were burned in the country. The UK Foreign Office said Swedish authorities had successfully foiled some planned attacks and made arrests. Earlier in July, the US State Department also warned of possible terrorist attacks in Sweden in its travel advisory. Acknowledging Britain’s travel advice, Sweden’s National Security Adviser Henrik Landerholm reiterated the growing threats to Sweden.

Landerholm said recent attacks on Sweden’s embassy in Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey have contributed to the risk assessment. While the burning of the Quran is permitted in Sweden under freedom of expression regulations, the act is considered blasphemous by Muslims. Muslim countries around the world have condemned the incident of burning of their holy book in Sweden.