(Reuters) – The Swedish migration agency is re-examining the residency permit for an Iraqi refugee behind several Stockholm Koran desecration in recent weeks that have upset Muslims across the world, according to Swedish media.
According to the Swedish news agency TT, the man has a temporary residency permit in Sweden that is set to expire in 2024 but the agency is now re-examining the case.
In an email to Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet the agency says information received from Swedish authorities had given reason to examine whether the man’s status in Sweden should be revoked.
The man burnt the Koran last month outside of Stockholm’s central mosque and also held a demonstration outside of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm in July where he said he would burn the holy book, but did not do so.
Sweden has found itself in the international spotlight in recent weeks following protests where the Koran, the Muslim holy book, has been damaged and burned.
Attacks on the Koran in Sweden and Denmark have offended many Muslim countries including Turkey, whose backing Sweden needs to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a goal of Stockholm’s following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In addition to applications to burn the Koran, there have also been several to burn other religious books such as the New Testament and the Old Testament, prompting many to criticise Sweden.
Swedish courts have ruled that police cannot stop burnings of holy scriptures, but Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s government said earlier in July it would examine if there was reason to change the Public Order Act to make it possible for police to stop Koran burnings.
Reuters has sought comment from the Swedish Migration Authority and the man in question.
(Reporting by Marie Mannes)
