Sweden police grant permit for ‘Quran burning protest’ outside mosque ahead of Bakrid

Swedish police have given a permit to a man planning to burn a Koran near the main mosque in central Stockholm on Wednesday afternoon, in what could be the first such display since a similar event led to a breakdown in negotiations with Turkey about the Nordic country’s NATO membership.

The permit was granted to a man who has won court appeals after his previous applications for permission to burn the Koran outside of Iraq’s embassy in the Swedish capital were denied by police, broadcaster TV4 reported.

If the event takes place as scheduled outside the main mosque on the Sodermalm island in the city center, it would be the first public act of its kind in Sweden since a Danish-Swedish far-right extremist caused an uproar in Turkey and other Muslim countries by burning a translated copy of the Koran near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm in January. Following that protest, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan ruled out supporting Sweden’s bid to enter the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Swedish police have on numerous occasions denied permits to people who have said they were planning to burn the book, citing security reasons, but their decisions have been dismissed by administrative courts that have argued public gatherings and demonstrations must be given permission unless they pose an immediate threat to public safety.

Stockholm police have called in reinforcements from other parts of the country to maintain order during the planned protest on Wednesday, TV4 reported.