STOCKHOLM, August 3. /TASS/. A police-authorized demonstration involving burning of the Quran took place on a beach at Lake Malaren outside the Swedish capital of Stockholm, not far from the Drottningholm Palace, the Swedish royal family’s private residence, a TASS correspondent reported.
The organizer, an Iranian immigrant woman, burned a copy of the Quran, saying that she wanted to demonstrate that "religion is also part of politics." Some 15 to 20 people came to watch the demonstration, most of them journalists. The organizer explained that she had been Muslim but converted to Christianity, and carried out the activity to prove that "Islam is not a democratic religion."
The demonstration also attracted about five protesters, who demanded that the Quran burning be stopped.
The woman was asked afterwards if she believed that the burning of sacred books had an impact on Sweden’s security, to which she answered in the negative.
Earlier, a burning of the Quran took place during a police-authorized demonstration in downtown Stockholm on June 28. Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi immigrant, tore pages from the Quran and set the Islamic holy book on fire. On July 20, Momika and another organizer, Salwan Najem, kicked the sacred book in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm. On July 31, Momika once again burned pages from the Quran outside the building of the Riksdag, the Swedish parliament. These activities drew a highly negative reaction from governments and publics alike in Muslim countries. Hate-incitement charges were brought against the organizers following the demonstrations.