Muslim man wins hearts by deciding not to burn Torah, Bible in Sweden. Ahmad A, the guy who threatened to burn copies of the Torah and the Bible outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, declared Saturday that he had decided not to harm the holy books of Christians and Jews out of respect for other religions.
Despite Swedish authorities granting him permission to hold a three-person demonstration, the man stated he had no intention of burning any books and instead threw the lighter to the ground, according to DW.
“I never thought I would burn any books. I’m a Muslim, we don’t burn,” broadcaster SVT quoted the man as telling those gathered for the planned desecration.
The protest’s main goal, according to the 32-year-old, was to highlight the distinction between exercising one’s right to free speech and insulting other ethnic groups.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog was among numerous Israeli authorities and Jewish organizations to instantly condemn the Swedish government’s decision to allow the burning of holy texts.
Also read: Sweden Quran burning sparks anger across Muslim world
The organizer of the rally, Ahmad, explained that his purpose was not to burn the sacred books, but rather to criticize those who had lately desecrated Qurans in Sweden, a practice that is not prohibited by Swedish law.
“This is a response to the people who burn the Quran. I want to show that freedom of expression has limits that must be taken into account,” explained the Swedish resident of Syrian origin.
“I want to show that we have to respect each other, we live in the same society. If I burn the Torah, another the Bible, another the Quran, there will be war here. What I wanted to show is that it’s not right to do it,” he added.
The planned burning of the Torah came just a few days after another man burnt pages of the Quran, Islam’s sacred book, sparking significant criticism from Muslims around the world, according to Al-Arabiya.
Rasmus Paludan, a Swedish-Danish right-wing fanatic, burned a copy of the Quran in January to protest Sweden’s NATO membership application and negotiations with Turkey to join the alliance.
On June 28, during the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, an Iraqi refugee in Sweden set fire to certain Quranic pages in front of Stockholm’s largest mosque.
As a Muslim man wins hearts by deciding not to burn Torah, and Bible in Sweden, following the two incidents, the Muslim world condemned them both.
Although the Swedish police stressed that a license to protest does not entail formal permission to burn a sacred book, there is no law that prohibits it.
However, if a demonstration endangers public safety or incites racial hatred, the police have the authority to prohibit it.
