Sweden: A man burns pages from the Koran in front of a mosque during a rally authorized by the police

Silwan Momica, a 37-year-old Iraqi who fled his country to Sweden, on Wednesday burned several pages of the Quran in front of a mosque during a rally authorized by the authorities.

A 37-year-old Iraqi burned a few pages of a copy of the Koran in front of Stockholm’s largest mosque in a “march” authorized by Swedish police on Wednesday, infuriating Ankara, which denounced the “unacceptable” act.

This new incident may darken Sweden’s prospects for NATO membership, which Turkey is blocking.

The event, which coincides with Eid al-Adha, a holiday celebrated by Muslims around the world, gathered about a hundred spectators and journalists.

Sloane Momica, in a light beige T-shirt and light blue shirt, stepped on the Qur’an several times before slipping slices of bacon into it and scorching a few pages.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan immediately denounced the incident on Twitter, saying, “It is unacceptable to allow these anti-Islamic acts under the pretext of freedom of expression.”

Washington joined the criticism, while saying it supports Sweden’s membership in NATO “as soon as possible”.

“We have always said that burning religious texts is disgraceful and insulting,” deputy foreign ministry spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

Only hate hides behind the concepts of democracy and freedom.

The topic is sensitive in the Scandinavian country. A demonstration in January, during which a Quran was burned in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, had already angered Ankara and the Islamic world, which led to demonstrations and calls to boycott Swedish products.

Nawa Omran, the 32-year-old artist who came to watch the scene, replied: “It’s madness, it’s absolute madness, only hate hides behind the concepts of democracy and freedom.”

The police had announced earlier in the day the mandate of the “assembly”, saying that the “security risks” associated with the burning of the Koran “are not a matter of prohibition.” But at the end of the day, she announced that she had filed a complaint against the organizer, mainly for inciting hatred.

In his request for prior permission, the organizer of the book burning, Silwan Momica, said he wanted to “express his opinion on the Qur’an”. He wrote: “I will tear the Qur’an apart and burn it.”

Mr Momica had made a similar request in February, but it was rejected by the police.

According to an article in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet dated April 5, Mr Momica stressed that his intention was not to complicate Swedish membership in NATO.

“I do not want to harm this country that welcomed me and preserved my dignity,” he told the newspaper, adding that he wanted to see the Quran banned in Sweden.