Much of the blame for the protests witnessed in several parts of the world following the mischievous burning in Stockholm of the Muslim holy book
must be laid on the authorities in Sweden. Unwilling to draw lessons from the Charlie Hebdo episode in Paris when the publication’s satirical cartoons on Prophet Muhammad prompted protests and eventually a massacre at its offices, a Swedish court gave permission for the petitioner, an Iraqi emigre, to proceed with his act in the name of freedom of expression. The court did so saying there must be a clear connection between security problems and the planned gathering, and police had deemed this to not be the case. Seriously?
Sweden has a tradition of allowing protests in the name of freedom of expression, but then, Stockholm police did ban a planned anti-Nato demonstration
in February. What is more, the recent outrage was allowed to proceed on a day when millions of Muslims were marking the start of Eid Al-Adha, an important day in the Muslim calendar. Indonesia, Malaysia and a host of other nations including Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt criticised the Quran burning. Morocco and Jordan recalled their ambassadors to Stockholm.
