The Foreign Minister of Sweden Tobias Billstroem said that the incident with the burning of the Holy Quran in Stockholm could negatively affect the country’s image. This was announced in an interview with the newspaper Syndsvenskan.
“The burning of the Qur’an in Stockholm can negatively affect the positive image of our country,” he said.
According to the minister, the authorities make efforts to save the reputation of the country. “If Sweden will continue to be accused of Islamophobia, this can negatively affect the positive image of the country in the long run. It is difficult to predict what consequences this will have for Sweden in NATO. It is also important that the government also protects freedom of speech,” – The head of diplomacy said.
Earlier, the Sweden Foreign Ministry condemned the act of burning the Koran in Stockholm on the first day of the Kurban holiday.
A number of countries criticized the Swedish authorities, including Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan, Indonesia, Afghanistan, the USA and the Russian Federation.
Sweden authorities began an investigation into the incident.
On the first day of the holiday of Kurban in Stockholm, a native of Iraq named Salvan Momik burned a copy of the Qur’an. In the area of the anti -Islamic campaign, police security was provided.