A Swedish resident of Syrian descent who was given permission to burn Torahs and Bibles in Stockholm has decided not to desecrate the holy books in response to outrage over burning a copy of the Holy Quran.
Thirty-two-year-old Ahmad Alloush received permission from Swedish police to carry out the act on Friday, prompting widespread condemnation and opposition from Israeli and Jewish groups.
Alush threw a lighter on the ground outside the Israeli embassy on Saturday, saying he never intended to burn the holy books.
“I am a Muslim and I cannot burn holy and religious books,” he told reporters.
According to media reports, he took out the Quran and criticized the burning of copies of Islam’s holy book in Sweden.
“This is a response to people burning Qurans,” Alloush said, referring to outrage over the burning of copies of the Quran under police protection in Sweden. I want to show that there are limits to freedom of expression that must be taken into account.
“I want to show that we should respect each other; We live in the same society. If I burn the Torah, another Bible and another Quran, there will be war here. What I wanted to show is that it’s not okay to do that,” he added.
Protests are coming Two weeks after 37-year-old Salwan MomikaAn Iraqi citizen burned a Quran in front of a Stockholm mosque during Eid al-Adha.
In January, Swedish-Danish right-wing extremist Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Sweden.
Both incidents triggered a series of condemnations in the Muslim world.