Sweden’s government stopped the far-right parties’ planned rallies, which included burning a Quran.
The decision was made because officials thought that it may harm Sweden’s NATO membership application, according to Deutsche Welle.
The Muslim holy book was burned on January 21 in Stockholm, Sweden, by Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the Danish Stram Kurs political party. When Paludan protested in front of the Turkish Embassy in Sweden over the Nordic nation’s membership in NATO, the Quran was set on fire.
In a historic break from their non-aligned policies, Sweden and the neighboring country of Finland are attempting to join the military alliance in the midst of the conflict in Ukraine.
However, their membership in NATO would need to be approved by all of the other members. Turkey has said it will obstruct Sweden’s application, partly because of Paludan’s initial prank.
Before then, Ankara had been pressuring the two nations to take action against Kurdish armed groups, activists, and other organizations it views as “terrorists.”
In the meantime, Muslim nations around the world have strongly denounced the insult to the Quran and urged Sweden’s government to stop similar instances.