A Swedish man faces trial this week on charges of incitement to racial hatred for the burning of a copy of the Islamic Quran in what could become a precedent-setting case, as prosecutors have been reluctant to pursue charges against Quran-burning protesters in the past.
The case involves a 27-year-old man who filmed himself burning a copy of the Quran, which was wrapped in bacon, on September 11th, 2020, and then proceeding to drop off the burned Quran outside of a local mosque in Linköping, broadcaster SVT reports.
Alongside the Quran, the man is said to have placed various signs, including one that stated that the prophet Mohammed was a “paedophile” and the film was set to music that was also played by Brenton Tarrant during the massacres at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019.
Eva Nemec Nordh, the prosecutor in the case, commented on the case, saying, “When this film appeared, people were very worried; Will there be an attack? In terms of security, we were careful to establish who was behind this.”
“Is this person prepared to carry out an attack similar to what happened in Christchurch? This was close [to the time of the attack]. It affected both the municipality and the police who increased their staff,” Nordh added.
The case is unique as Swedish prosecutors have not previously brought charges against protestors who have burned copies of the Quran, as most have stated that burning a Quran falls under freedom of speech and expression.
In 2020, prosecutor Sofia Syrén closed a preliminary investigation into a Quran-burning hate speech case stating, “It is not possible to prove that a crime has been committed, burning a Quran in itself is not illegal.”
Over the last several years, several groups have called for the government to outlaw Quran burning, with 15 Muslim groups in Stockholm in 2020 demanding a ban on the burning of religious texts and mocking religious faiths.
“We do not want it to be legal in Sweden to burn holy scriptures such as the Quran, the Bible, and the Jewish scriptures and at the same time for it to be forbidden to mock the different religions,” Imam Hussein Farah Warsame of the Rinkeby mosque stated at the time.
Following another Quran burning earlier this year outside of the Turkish embassy, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also called on Sweden to ban Quran burning, going as far as saying his country could not accept Sweden’s NATO application if burning the Islamic holy book was allowed to remain legal.
“As long as you allow my holy book, the Koran, to be burned and torn apart, we will not say yes to your entry into NATO. Our view of Finland is positive, but not of Sweden,” Erdogan said.
While Stockholm police initially tried to ban Quran-burning protests by simply withholding permits, a Swedish court overturned the permit ban after declaring it unlawful, stating that police concerns regarding safety and security were not enough to stifle free expression.
Sweden has yet to make Quran burning illegal but neighbouring Denmark, which has also seen several similar protests, announced last month that it would consider outlawing the burning of religious texts in public.
“It is a cornerstone of our democracy that you have the right to express yourself,” Danish Deputy Prime Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said and added, “You also have to behave properly.”
Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard, meanwhile, argued that Quran burnings endanger Danes’ safety and were harmful to Denmark, saying such protests only lead to division, differentiating them from other forms of expression, such as satirical drawings.
Swedish prosecutor Nordh also spoke out about banning Quran burnings saying, “We already have restrictions on our freedom of expression, we don’t need more. In this case, however, I believe that the sum of all the elements that individually would fall outside criminal liability, together with what I believe to be circumstantial, meets the requirements for bringing charges.”
A verdict in the case is expected in the middle of October and while Nordh stated that she believes the case is important, she did not want to speculate on whether it could set a precedent for the prosecution of future Quran burnings.
