STOCKHOLM: Swe­den’s government is considering changing the Public Order Act to make it possible for police to deny permission for acts such as desecrating the Holy Quran, but only if they threaten national security, it said on Friday.

Sweden raised its terrorist alert to the second highest level on Thursday, saying it had thwarted attacks after several incidents of the desecration of Holy Quran outraged Muslims and triggered threats from militants.

Insults towards public figures or against religions are protected by Sweden’s far-reaching freedom of speech laws and the government rules out changing them.

However, Minister of Justice Gunnar Strommer said on Friday he would appoint a commission to look into giving police wider powers to deny acts such as desecration of Holy Quran.

“Of course, general international dissatisfaction or vague threat should not be enough. It must be about serious and qualified threats,” Strommer told a news conference.

He added it could give police the power to select a different location for a protest or to dissolve it.

An Iraqi living in Sweden has damaged several copies of the Holy Quran in recent months.

A media outlet linked to Al Qaeda has urged “violent retribution” against Sweden.

The decision to appoint a commission met with immediate scepticism from several political parties, including the government’s support party, the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats.

“Even if different values always need to be weighed against each other, the Sweden Democrats will never accept that we adapt to threats and pressure from Islamists and dictatorships,” Sweden Democrats’ party leader Jimmie Akesson said in a statement.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2023