US says burning of religious texts 'disrespectful and hurtful'

WASHINGTON

The US said Wednesday it is “disrespectful’ to burn religious texts after the Quran was burned in Sweden on the first day of a major Muslim festival, Eid al-Adha.

"We've said consistently that the burning of religious texts is disrespectful and hurtful, and what might be legal is certainly not necessarily appropriate," State Department Deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said when asked about the provocative action.

"So I will let the government of Sweden and local law enforcement speak specifically or more about this particular incident but broadly, we continue to encourage Hungary and Türkiye to ratify the accession protocol of Sweden without delay, so that we can welcome Sweden into the alliance as soon as possible," said Patel.

An Iraqi national burned the Muslim holy book outside a mosque in Stockholm, on the first day of the religious festival, also known as the Feast of Sacrifice.

The incident took place outside of the Stockholm Mosque in Medborgarplatsen, where Salwan Momika first threw the Quran on the ground before burning and insulting Islam.

On June 12, a Swedish appeals court upheld a lower court's decision to overturn a ban on Quran burning, ruling that police had no legal grounds to prevent two Quran burning protests earlier this year.

In February, police refused permission for two Quran burning attempts, citing security concerns, after far-right Danish politician Rasmus Paludan burned a Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm in January.

Later, two individuals who attempted to stage provocative actions outside the Iraqi and Turkish embassies in Stockholm appealed the decision.

In April, the Stockholm Administrative Court reversed the decision, ruling that security risks were insufficient to restrict the ability to demonstrate.