Al-Qaida has called for targeted assassinations of Swedish and Danish diplomats at embassies worldwide after several copies of the Quran were burned in the two Scandinavian countries in recent months, U.K. news outlet Express reported.
Copies of the Islamic holy book were burned during a recent spate of public desecrations in both Sweden and Denmark, sparking angry protests in Muslim countries.
Swedish National Security Adviser Henrik Landerholm told The Associated Press there are signs of "a heightened threat" to the country and to Swedish interests abroad, and added that the security situation has deteriorated.
Terrorist group representatives have "called for attacks against Sweden," Landerholm said in a statement. Sweden has gone from being considered a "legitimate" target to being considered a "priority target" and "[s]tates and other actors have helped amplify such messages." The statement did not identify those involved, according to AP.
The Swedish embassy in Baghdad was stormed by protesters last month following reports of a planned burning of a Quran in Stockholm. According to Express, the Swedish ambassador was expelled from Iraq soon afterward.
Indonesia reportedly denounced the book burning as a "racist act of serious hate" and Morocco recalled its ambassador from Stockholm over the incidents.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban has banned Swedish activities, including aid work, in the country over the string of Quran burnings, Express reported.
More than 60,000 people signed a petition to Parliament in the United Kingdom, calling on the government to criticize the burnings.
"The U.K. condemns the burning of the Holy Quran and appreciates the immense sense of outrage expressed by Muslims around the world caused by the burning of the Holy Qur'an, an act which is deeply insulting," a U.K. Foreign Office spokesperson said in response, according to Express.
According to CNN, freedom of speech is protected by the constitutions of Sweden and Denmark, and these countries and their neighbors are among the most liberal and secular in the world.
"Sweden's protection, under the Swedish constitution, for freedom of expression, is the strongest protection in the world — even more so than the first amendment in the United States," Marten Schutlz, a law professor at Stockholm University, told CNN. "Freedom of speech is almost always the first priority in all conflicts of interests or values."
Even so, both Sweden and Denmark signaled over the weekend that they are exploring legal options to restrict the demonstrations.
"We will find a legal tool that allows us to prevent the Koran burnings in front of foreign embassies," Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said, according to CNN.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told the outlet his government has "already started analyzing the legal situation — including the Public Order Act — with the purpose of exploring the scope for measures that would strengthen our national security."
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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