Sweden: Court allows Quran burning during Eid al-Adha

A Swedish court has given permission for a Quran to be burned outside the main mosque in the capital Stockholm, broadcaster TV4 reported on Wednesday.

The burning of the Islamic religious book is set to take place during Eid al-Adha, one of the holiest days of the year for Muslims.

The book burning also comes as Sweden attempts to overcome Turkey's opposition to its NATO membership accession. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded to a previous Quran burning by saying Sweden should not join the alliance.

What did Swedish authorities say?

The court had said that there must be a clear connection between security problems and the planned gathering. Police deemed this to not be the case, according to TV4.

"The security risks and consequences that the authorities can see connected to a Quran burning are not of such a nature that according to the current law they give grounds for a decision to reject a request for a general gathering," the court said.

"Police authorities, therefore, give you permission for the requested gathering," it added.

Sweden's book-burning problems

The burning of the Quran has become a mainstay of far-right extremists in Sweden, with Danish-Swedish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan having made a name for himself with such acts.

But Paludan is reportedly not behind Wednesday's action.

Reuters reported that the organizer was an Iraqi refugee who was seeking to ban the Quran, and that only two people would take part in the action.

Although Sweden rarely bans protests, or book burnings, a planned anti-NATO demonstration that would have also included a Quran-burning rally, was blocked by Swedish police in February.

Before that, far-right extremists had burned a Quran outside the Turkish embassy. This led to Turkey canceling a visit by Sweden's defense minister to Ankara, and President Erdogan saying Sweden can not count on Turkey's support.

Swedish PM still hopes for NATO membership

Despite the ongoing opposition from Turkey and the repeated burning of Qurans, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was still adamant that Sweden would be able to join NATO.

"Sweden will become a NATO member," he said in an interview with SVT, albeit accepting that it might not happen by the time NATO meets for its next big summit in Vilnius.

"We've also said that we respect that it is Turkey that makes Turkish decisions and it is good we now have another meeting ... and maybe we can address the odd question mark ahead of the Vilnius summit in that kind of conversation," Kristersson said.