A senior Swedish official has warned citizens and Swedish companies abroad to be vigilant amid a wave of anger and protests occurring in the Islamic world due to the burning of copies of the Quran in Stockholm. Swedish National Security Advisor Henrik Landerholm reported an increase in "threat" indicators to Swedish interests overseas, emphasizing that the security situation is continuing to deteriorate.
In an official statement, he claimed that what he termed "terrorist groups" have called for attacks against Sweden, with some countries and other actors significantly contributing to the mobilization and amplification of these messages. He stated that "extremist groups that previously considered Sweden a legitimate target now see it as a priority," without specifying the involved parties.
He added that there are "indicators" of terrorist groups planning to launch attacks against Swedish interests abroad, recalling the storming of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad last month and an attempted attack on the diplomatic mission in Beirut last week. He confirmed that the Swedish government and authorities "are closely monitoring developments and will take a range of measures in cooperation with international partners to protect Swedes and Swedish interests abroad and counter the hate messages targeting Sweden."
Recently, an individual named Salwan Momika desecrated a copy of the Quran and the Iraqi flag again in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, marking the second incident involving this person after Swedish authorities allowed him to target Muslim sanctities. This followed an event organized by Danish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan, who held a rally in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm and burned the Quran, justifying it by Turkey's refusal to allow Finland and Sweden to join NATO.
This was not the first time Paludan had burned a copy of the Quran, having done so several times previously, with the most recent occurrence being in April 2022.
