Sweden to present security measures amid fears of attacks following Holy Quran’s desecration

The Swedish government said on Tuesday it would present measures to protect its citizens amid growing concerns in both Sweden and Denmark that the incidents of the burning of the Holy Quran could lead to attacks.

Separately, the country also made clear that it did not plan to make sweeping changes to freedom of speech laws, but at the same time repeated it would look into changes that would allow police to stop the burnings of holy books in public if there was a clear threat to national security.

“We stand up for the Swedish freedom of speech,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a news conference today.

Both Sweden and Denmark have seen a string of protests in recent weeks in which copies of the Holy Quran were burned, or otherwise damaged, prompting outrage in Muslim countries and demands that the Nordic governments put a stop to the burnings.

More incidents of the Holy Quran’s burning, permitted under freedom of speech laws, took place on Monday as the governments of both countries said they were examining ways to legally limit such acts in a bid to de-escalate tensions.

In Denmark, the Police Security and Intelligence Service (PET) believes the incidents have led to an elevated risk of attacks, PET late on Monday told public broadcaster DR.

Also on Monday, the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) convened in an extraordinary session to discuss the recent developments where it strongly condemned the Holy Quran’s burnings.

It also said in a statement after the meeting ended that it called upon member states to take appropriate action, whether political or economic, in countries where the Holy Quran was being desecrated.

After the meeting, the Danish and Swedish foreign ministers separately wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that they would continue their dialogue with the OIC.