() — Swedish authorities on Wednesday approved a demonstration to burn Korans in front of a mosque in central Stockholm. The burning will coincide with the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Adha, one of the most significant in the Islamic calendar.
The decision to allow such an incendiary protest may threaten Sweden’s chances of joining NATO, due to Turkey’s objections.
NATO officials are racing against time to avoid the embarrassment of seeing the alliance fail to meet its own stated goal of admitting Sweden to the alliance by July 11, the date of their next official summit in the Lithuanian capital. Vilnius. Officials fear that missing this deadline will send a humiliating and potentially dangerous message to the alliance’s adversaries.
Turkey—a strategically important NATO member due to its geographical location in both the Middle East and Europe, and the alliance’s second-largest military power—has proven to be Sweden’s biggest obstacle to NATO membership.
Earlier this year, Turkish-Swedish relations suffered a blow after a rally outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm where an anti-immigration politician set fire to a copy of the Koran.
The incident sparked anger in the Turkish capital, Ankara, where protesters took to the streets and burned the Swedish flag in front of the Swedish embassy in response.
At the time, Turkey’s then foreign minister blamed the Swedish government, saying it had “participated in this crime by allowing this vile act to be committed,” according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.
