Sweden greenlights Torah and Bible burning, sparking Israel's ire

Sweden has granted a permit for a "protest" which would include burning of the Torah and the Bible outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, sparking condemnation from Israel and Jewish organisations.

The controversial act, scheduled for Saturday, comes weeks after Sweden allowed an extremist to set fire to pages of the holy Quran outside Stockholm's main mosque — leading to widespread outrage and condemnations around the world.

Saturday's action is in response to the desecration of Muslims' holy book Quran and would be an expression in support of freedom of speech, according to the application to police.

Stockholm police said three people would participate in the desecration of holy books outside the Israeli Embassy at 1 pm [1100 GMT].

In a comment to the AFP news agency, Stockholm police stressed that in line with Swedish legislation they granted permits for people to hold public gatherings and not for the activities conducted during them.

"The police does not issue permits to burn various religious texts — the police issues permits to hold a public gathering and express an opinion," said Carina Skagerlind, press officer for Stockholm police.

"An important distinction," she added.

Herzog condemns Sweden's decision

Israel's President Isaac Herzog was one of several Israeli representatives and Jewish organisations to immediately condemn the decision.

"I unequivocally condemn the permission granted in Sweden to burn holy books," Herzog said in a statement.

"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," the head of state added.

Yaakov Hagoel, chairman of the World Zionist Organization, said in a statement that granting the permit was "not freedom of expression but antisemitism".

Israel's Ambassador to Sweden Ziv Nevo Kulman said he is shocked and horrified by more permission for public burnings of holy books.

"I utterly condemn the burning of holy books sacred to any religion as an act of hate and disrespect that has nothing to do with freedom of expression," Kulman wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Israel's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau wrote to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, urging him to stop the desecration.

"I call on you to do everything possible to prevent this act. Freedom of expression does not mean permitting everything," the Times of Israel quoted Lau from the letter.

"Any desecration of sacred Jewish items is not freedom, but antisemitism," the chief Rabbi declared.

Backlash from Muslim countries

In June, Swedish police allowed an extremist to desecrate Quran.

The permit was granted in line with free speech protections, but authorities later said they had opened an investigation over "agitation against an ethnic group", noting that the extremist had burnt pages from the Islamic holy book very close to the mosque.

Countries including Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco summoned Swedish ambassadors in protest at the incident, which led to an emergency meeting of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Sweden' s government also condemned the incident as "Islamophobic", while noting that the country had a "constitutionally protected right to freedom of assembly, expression and demonstration".

On Wednesday, the UN's top human rights body overwhelmingly approved a measure calling on countries to do more to prevent religious hatred in the wake of desecration of Quran.

It was approved but some Western countries objected.

Applause broke out in the cavernous chamber of the Human Rights Council on Wednesday after the 28-12 vote, with seven abstentions, on a measure brought by Pakistan and Palestine that was backed by many developing countries in Africa, as well as China and India, and Middle Eastern countries.

After the vote, Ambassador Khalil Hashmi of Pakistan insisted the measure "does not seek to curtail the right to free speech," but tries to strike a "prudent balance" between it and "special duties and responsibilities."

Belgium, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Romania, the UK, and the US voted against the resolution.

"The opposition of a few in the room has emanated from their unwillingness to condemn the public desecration of the Holy Quran or any other religious book," Hashmi said.