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On Tuesday and Wednesday, NATO will meet in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius for the summit. Main agenda item: Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine. Finland will be there for the first time, having joined the defense alliance in April out of fear for its powerful neighbor after only a year-long admission process.
Sweden will not be there, although the government had hoped for an admission process that would be just as fast. But NATO member Turkey has so far refused to sign on the grounds that Sweden would provide protection for terrorists hostile to Turkey. The approval of Hungary, which is also against sanctions against Russia, is also still missing.
Quran burnt in front of mosque
Sweden has since tightened its anti-terror laws and has also agreed to extradite a PKK supporter to Turkey. Nevertheless, the admission process is likely to be further delayed after 37-year-old Iraqi Salwan Momika burned a Koran in front of Stockholm’s main mosque last Wednesday.
“My problem is not the books of Jews, Christians or others”, the man motivated his protest against the newspaper “Expressen”. “My problem is the book that calls for violence and murder – that is the Quran.” According to the newspaper, Salwan Momika was granted a three-year residence permit in 2021 as a political refugee. That same year, he was sentenced to 80 hours of community service for threatening a knife.
Authorities approved the move
The action sparked outrage in the Muslim world – especially since Swedish authorities had approved the protest. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 69, raged: “Eventually we will learn the arrogance in the West that insulting Muslim shrines has nothing to do with freedom of speech.” Turkey will respond decisively until a “decisive victory over terrorist organizations and Islamophobia is achieved”.
Erdogan’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (55) was doubled over and said that the Swedish security system apparently could not avoid provocations. The image of a country that could bring trouble instead of strength to NATO is emerging. Turkey must therefore ask itself whether NATO membership is an advantage or a burden.
Research on hate speech
The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is trying to limit the damage. It pointed out that Sweden had a “constitutionally protected right to freedom of assembly, expression and demonstration”. But it condemned the action as an “Islamophobic” act, stating that racism and xenophobia “had no place in Sweden or Europe”. Despite the approval of the protest, the police have launched an investigation into “sedition against an ethnic group”.
In Sweden, a discussion has now erupted about whether such actions should be banned. The rationale is that freedom of expression should not be restricted.
However, Jonas Trolle, director of the Swedish Center against Violent Extremism, is calling for the law to be changed to limit protests. In Swedish media he says: “The constitution allows a refusal in case of a threat to national security, and it is clear that what is happening at the moment is really not good in relation to the risks for Sweden.”
Meanwhile, Turkey and Hungary are not expected to agree to NATO membership before the fall. And even that should be optimistic. Because the Iraqi in Sweden has announced that he will burn “the Iraqi flag and the Koran in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm” in the coming days.
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
