STOCKHOLM: Swedish police said they have granted a permit for a protest where the organizer plans to burn a Qur'an outside Stockholm’s main mosque on Wednesday, the start of the Muslim three-day Eid Al-Adha holiday. The police said in the written decision that the security risks associated with the burning “were not of a nature that could justify, under current laws, a decision to reject the request.” The green light came two weeks after a Swedish appeals court rejected the police’s decision to deny permits for two demonstrations in Stockholm which were to include Qur'an burnings.
I think we’re all capable of recognising the important differences between burning a flag representing a particular state, or some aspect of its government or policies, and burning a Torah in front of a Synagogue, as happened frequently in Nazi Germany, or in this case burning a Qur’an in front of a Mosque.
It’s a hateful act designed to encourage hatred with the intention of turning that hatred into acts.
The person burning the Torah in front of a Synagogue is not saying “I disagree with the Torah’s rulings on x”, they’re saying "those who follow this religion are disgusting and we should do something about it."
The person who burns a LGBT pride flag is not saying “I think this movement oversteps the legitimate reach of the state”, they’re saying "those who are part of this group are disgusting and we should do something about it."
Same with the Qur’an.
It needlessly inflames tensions, encourages hatred and horrible acts towards Muslims, and both makes Muslims feel unsafe and directly contributes to making them unsafe. It’s not the sort of thing a decent, civilized society should tolerate.
A flag represents the state, religious text book represents the teachings of a religion, a pride flag represents the minorities.
Going out of your way to burn the book of a religious group in front of its gathering sites is obnoxious and counterproductive at best, and surely one could hold actual hatred along otherwise protected expression, but the religion itself and its teachings are not above criticism. As crude as burning a book may be, you’re inserting a lot meaning in to it that just isn’t actually there.