Three requests to burn religious texts, including a Torah book, have been submitted to police in Sweden by self-described free-speech advocates in what would likely spark further international uproar a week after a Quran was burned outside a mosque in Stockholm in a similar demonstration.
Local police confirmed to Sweden’s national public broadcaster on Wednesday that it had received an application from an individual in his 30s to burn a Jewish and a Christian Bible outside Israel’s Embassy in Stockholm on July 15 as “a symbolic gathering for the sake of freedom of speech.”
Another request to burn a Quran “as soon as possible” in Stockholm was submitted by a woman in her 50s.
Police did not immediately rule out either request, saying every application is reviewed on an individual basis.
Israel’s Ambassador to Sweden Ziv Nevo Kulman expressed his dismay over the request, tweeting: “I am shocked and horrified by the prospect of the burning of more books in Sweden, be it the Koran, the Torah or any other holy book. This is clearly an act of hatred that must be stopped.”
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