(Local) Salwan Momika, the man behind a spate of recent Quran burnings that sparked diplomatic conflict and caused Sweden to raise its terror threat level, was assaulted on Monday, reports Aftonbladet. Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reports that Momika was attacked in the city […]
(Brussels Times) The Swedish government published on Friday the directives for an inquiry to review the Public Order Act and the possibility to limit public gatherings and demonstrations that might pose a threat to its security. The directives were first announced in […]
(AP) Swedish police detained a woman Friday who sprayed an anti-Islam activist with a fire extinguisher as he staged a Quran-burning protest outside the Iranian Embassy in Stockholm. Video of the scene showed the woman rushing up to Salwan Momika and spraying […]
(Local) Sweden’s government on Friday launched an inquiry into changing the Public Order Act to make it possible to stop protests, such as Quran burnings, if they represent a security threat. The inquiry comes after Sweden’s appeals court ruled in June that […]
(Reuters) Sweden raised its terrorist alert to the second highest level on Thursday, saying it had thwarted attacks after Koran burnings and other acts against Islam’s holiest text outraged Muslims and triggered threats from jihadists. Anti-Islam activists have damaged several copies of […]
(Al-Jazeera) A copy of the Quran has been desecrated in Sweden’s capital as two men kicked the Muslim holy book and burned several of its pages in front of the Royal Palace amid a heavy police presence. Monday’s incident marked the second […]
(AP) A senior Swedish official said Monday Swedes abroad and businesses linked to Sweden “should observe increased vigilance and caution,” following recent Quran burnings in the country and protests in the Muslim world. Henrik Landerholm, Sweden’s national security adviser, said there are […]
(Reuters) Britain on Sunday warned citizens going to Sweden of possible terrorist attacks following Koran burnings by anti-Islam activists that have outraged Muslims. In updated travel advice, Britain’s foreign ministry said Swedish authorities had successfully disrupted some planned attacks and made arrests. […]
(Deutsche Welle) Husam El Gomati scrolls through his phone and points at a long post in Arabic. “Mohammad Ahmad Ali, the most typical name, with some funny picture,” he notes. Scrolling through the post, El Gomati confirms what he expected: “Yeah, you’re […]
(Anadolu) The European Union will continue talks with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to “promote tolerance and mutual respect” after a series of recent Quran burnings in northern countries of the bloc, an official said on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters at […]
(AFP) Sweden’s government said Tuesday it intended to “intensify” border controls due to a worsened security situation in the wake of several protests involving desecrations of the Koran. Tensions have flared between Sweden and Muslim countries following several protests involving public desecrations […]
(Reuters) More Koran burnings took place in Sweden and Denmark on Monday as the governments of the two Nordic countries said they were examining ways to legally limit such acts in a bid to de-escalate growing tensions with several Muslim countries. Denmark […]
(Euronews) Two men set fire to a copy of the Quran on Monday in front of the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm, in a rally similar to previous events that provoked a diplomatic crisis between Sweden and the Muslim world. Smiling wryly, Salwan […]
(Local) The Iraqi activist Salwan Najem has applied for a permit to hold a Quran-burning protest outside Sweden’s parliament on Monday. Najem, a 48-year-old man, accompanied the activist Salwan Momika during the Quran-burning protests Momika carried out outside a Stockholm mosque and […]
(Reuters) Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday urged Sweden to take concrete steps to prevent burnings of the Koran, a Turkish foreign ministry source said. Sweden and Denmark have seen several protests in recent weeks where copies of the Koran have […]
(Reuters) The Swedish migration agency said late on Friday it is re-examining the residency permit of an Iraqi refugee who is behind several Koran desecrations in Stockholm in recent weeks, which have upset Muslims across the world. The man burnt a copy […]
(AP) Sweden’s prime minister said Thursday that police have received several permit applications for the burning of religious texts in the country next week, and that he fears this may escalate tensions further with the Muslim world. In his first public comments […]
(AFP) Sweden’s government on Thursday ordered 15 government agencies to strengthen the country’s ability to prevent terrorism, in response to a worsened security situation following protests involving desecration of the Koran. Tensions have flared between Sweden and several Middle Eastern nations after […]
(Local) Sweden’s opposition has called for the chair of the parliament’s foreign policy committee to resign after he called the Prophet Mohammed a “warlord, mass-murderer, slave trader and bandit” in a tweet. Richard Jomshof, whose strong views on Islam made him a […]
(Reuters) Sweden is the target of a disinformation campaign by “Russia-backed actors” intended to hurt the image of the NATO-candidate country by implying it supported recent burnings of the Koran, its minister for civil defence said on Wednesday. Sweden’s bid to join […]
(AP) Sweden’s security situation has deteriorated after recent Quran burnings in the country and protests in the Muslim world, both of which have negatively impacted the Nordic nation’s image, its domestic security service said Wednesday. The Swedish Security Service said the burning […]
(Euronews) Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, has spoken up against “any form of incitement to religious hatred and intolerance.” In a short statement released on Wednesday morning, Borrell expressed his unambiguous condemnation of the recent incidents in Sweden and Denmark […]
(Local) Sweden’s Social Democrat opposition has demanded the government call an emergency parliamentary meeting over the ongoing Quran-burning protests. “We are calling for the foreign policy committee to be called to an extra meeting as soon as possible as a result of […]
(European Conservative) Approximately 200 Muslim protestors gathered outside the European Parliament Wednesday, July 19th, as Islamic groups in Brussels rallied against the controversial burning of the Quran in Sweden. Shouts of “Allahu Akbar” were heard right outside the Parliament as an almost […]
(Local) Police in Sweden have received yet another application to hold a Quran-burning protest, with the event this time to be held outside the Iranian embassy in Stockholm. The request has come from a 31-year-old man, who intends to set fire [to] […]
(Reuters) There is limited political will in Sweden to ban Koran burnings that have upset large parts of the Muslim world and it would be complicated to do even if there were backing for such a move, experts and politicians said on […]
(AFP) In less than a month, Sweden-based Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika has twice stoked international outrage by desecrating the Koran at Stockholm protests. Despite his previous low profile, his past has been far from a quiet affair. In late June, the 37-year-old […]
(AP) A recent string of public desecrations of the Quran by a handful of anti-Islam activists in Sweden has sparked an angry reaction in Muslim countries and raised questions — including in Sweden — about why such acts are allowed. In the […]
(Local) A man stomped on a copy of the Quran but did not actually set fire to it at a protest in Stockholm, despite having pledged to do so. Here’s what happened — and what could happen next. Salwan Momika, the man […]
(Anadolu) A Turkish court issued an arrest warrant for Rasmus Paludan, a far-right Danish leader, following his controversial act of burning a copy of the Quran in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm. The incident, which took place on Jan. 21, […]
(AFP) Swedish police said Wednesday they had granted a permit for a protest outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, with media reporting the organisers planned to burn the Muslim holy book. The protest, scheduled for Thursday, comes just weeks after a man […]
(Times of Israel) A Muslim activist who had received permission to burn a Torah and a Bible outside the Israeli embassy in Sweden on Saturday said he was backing off from the move, adding that he only wanted to draw attention to […]
(AFP) Swedish police on Friday said they had granted a permit for a protest which would include burning holy texts outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, sparking condemnation from Israel and Jewish organisations. The controversial protest, scheduled for Saturday, comes weeks after […]
(National-UAE) The EU’s co-ordinator on combating anti-Muslim hatred told the National on Thursday that the bloc sees Quran-burning protests as having “no place in Europe” but said it was up to individual countries whether to ban them. Marion Lalisse said EU states […]
(Reuters) The United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday approved a disputed resolution on religious hatred in the wake of the burning of a Koran in Sweden, prompting concern by Western states who say it challenges long-held practices in rights protection. The […]
(AP) The U.N. human rights chief used a special debate on Tuesday about burnings of the Quran in Sweden and other European countries to tread a fine line between freedom of expression and respect for religious beliefs, while broadening his call for […]
(Local) A majority of Swedes believe it should be illegal to burn the Quran or the holy books of other religions, like the Bible or Torah, in public, according to a new survey. Over half of Swedes, 53 percent, agreed that burning […]
(AP) A Turkish man was found guilty Thursday of attempted aggravated extortion, weapons possession and attempted terrorist financing, saying he was acting on behalf of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party. The Stockholm District Court sentenced Yahya Güngör to a total of 4.5 […]
(Reuters) The Swedish government is examining whether it could change the law to stop people setting the Koran on fire in public, as recent burnings of the Muslim holy book have damaged Sweden’s security, Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer told Aftonbladet paper on […]
(AP) A Quran burning and a string of requests to approve protests involving the destruction of more holy books have left Sweden torn between its commitment to free speech and its respect for religious minorities. The clash of fundamental principles has complicated […]
(Anadolu) A leading Muslim group in the US urged President Joe Biden and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to condemn the Quran burning in Sweden. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said it encouraged Biden and Kristersson “to clearly disavow anti-Muslim bigotry […]
(AP) Turkey’s foreign minister said Tuesday that Swedish authorities’ failure to prevent Quran-burning protests in their country is raising security concerns and questions about Sweden’s credentials for possible NATO membership. But Hakan Fidan said Turkey would still approve Sweden’s membership in the […]
(AFP) Sweden’s government on Sunday condemned this week’s burning of a Koran outside Stockholm’s main mosque, calling it an “Islamophobic” act, after an international Islamic body called for measures to avoid future burnings. “The Swedish government fully understands that the Islamophobic acts […]
(AFP) Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Friday distanced himself from this week’s protest at which a Koran was burned outside a Stockholm mosque, which sparked outrage in parts of the Muslim world. “It is difficult to say what the consequences will […]
(AP) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday condemned a Quran-burning protest in Sweden, signaling that this would pose another obstacle to the country’s bid for NATO membership. Speaking to members of his Justice and Development Party, Erdogan equated “those who permitted […]
(AFP) The man who burned pages of the Koran outside a Stockholm mosque, sparking protests and a wave of condemnations, told Swedish media Thursday that he intended to burn another Koran within 10 days. After being granted a permit to protest by […]
(AFP) A man set fire to pages of the Koran outside Stockholm’s main mosque Wednesday, drawing a swift condemnation from Turkey which is holding up Sweden’s bid to join NATO days ahead of a summit. Swedish police had granted a permit for […]
(National-UAE) Swedish court documents show that a Syrian man who attacked toddlers with a knife in a park in south-east France last month served in the Syrian Armed Forces in the early years of the civil war, leading to his citizenship being […]
(Al-Arabiya) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that Sweden had to stop protests by supporters of the Ankara-criminalized Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Stockholm if it wanted Turkey to approve its NATO membership. “Turkey maintains its constructive […]
(AFP) A Turkish citizen appeared in a Swedish court on Tuesday accused of “attempted terrorist financing” of the pro-Kurdish PKK, a first in the Scandinavian country seeking Ankara’s approval to join NATO. Turkey has accused Sweden of being a haven for “terrorists,” […]
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