If you want to publicly burn a holy book in Sweden, first you must apply for a permit. On payment of a small fee you are then free to incinerate a Bible, a copy of the Bhagavad Gita or, yes, the Qur’an.
As Miranda Bryant in Stockholm tells Michael Safi, Sweden’s extremely liberal freedom of expression laws allow for the causing of extreme offence. And the backlash to recent instances of Qur’an burnings has ballooned out of control. Sweden is facing diplomatic pressure from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which represents 57 countries. At the same time it is fretting over the support of Turkey to allow it to become a full Nato member. And at home, the issue is highlighting the government’s reliance on the support of a far-right party to keep functioning.
Iman Omer tells Michael that for her and other Swedish Muslims, it is possible to fully support Sweden’s free speech traditions while calling Qur’an burnings what they are: hate crimes.
Photograph: Oscar Olsson/EPA
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