Rabat – Swedish police detained a woman on Friday who sprayed an anti-Islam activist with a fire extinguisher during his Quran-burning demonstration outside the Iranian Embassy in Stockholm.
The activist, identified as Salwan Momika, a refugee from Iraq, had been conducting a series of Quran-burning protests that have ignited outrage in various Muslim countries.
Video footage captured the woman rushing towards Momika as he staged his demonstration, dousing him with white powder from a fire extinguisher. Soon after police officers intervened, apprehending the woman and leading her away from the scene.
The woman, whose identity has not been disclosed by the police, was detained on suspicion of disturbing public order and violence against a police officer, according to police spokeswoman Towe Hägg.
Despite the disruption, Momika appeared visibly shocked but unharmed, and he eventually resumed his protest, which had received authorization from the authorities, an Abc report suggests.
The protests led by Momika have been allowed by Swedish police under the banner of freedom of speech, though preliminary hate speech charges have been filed against him.
Authorities are currently investigating the legality of his actions under Sweden’s hate speech law, which prohibits incitement of hatred against groups or individuals based on race, religion, or sexual orientation.
Momika asserts that his demonstrations are aimed at critiquing the religion of Islam rather than targeting Muslim individuals.
Read also: UN Adopts Morocco-Presented Resolution Against Burning of Quran, Hate Speech
Amid these escalating tensions, Sweden recently elevated its terror alert to the second-highest level, designating the country as a priority target for terrorist organizations.
Momika remains unbowed despite the threats directed towards him and his country, vowing to persist in his Quran-burning demonstrations. In a statement to the press, he defended his actions as an exercise of his freedom of speech, asserting: “I have freedom of speech.”
Muslim leaders within Sweden and around the world have voiced their concerns and called upon the government to explore measures to curtail the Quran-burning demonstrations.
While Sweden abolished its blasphemy laws in the 1970s, the government has now initiated an inquiry into legal avenues for authorities to deny permits for demonstrations on grounds of national security.
