Sweden police grant permit for Qur’an burning protest outside mosque

JEDDAH: A man was charged by Swedish police on Wednesday with “agitation against an ethnic group” after he desecrated and set fire to pages of the Qur’an outside the main mosque in Stockholm. Salwan Momika, 37, who fled from Iraq to Sweden several years ago, said he wanted to highlight the importance of freedom of speech. “This is democracy. It is in danger if they tell us we can’t do this,” he said. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Momika’s protest was “legal but not appropriate,” and it was up to the police to permit it or not.