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Sweden at higher risk of terrorism after Quran burnings
Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, shares his perspective on European politics.
What is the story about the new terrorist threat against Sweden?
Well, it is worrying. The security authorities back home have now elevated the threat level from three to four on a scale of five. And that's the consequences, of course, of the Quran burnings that have happened in both Sweden and Denmark during the past few weeks. And that had led to, understandably so, a very strong reaction, primarily in the Muslim countries. These are irresponsible acts done by isolated individuals. The authorities in both countries are seeing what legal actions could be taken, but in the meantime, a very difficult situation that needs to be handled by the Swedish and Danish authorities.
What is the European reaction to the different legal troubles of Donald Trump?
Well, I think Europeans are following this with interest, needless to say, without necessarily going into all of the legal details, which are quite complicated from a European point of view. But the main thing is, of course, that what we see is that Donald Trump, in spite of all of this, seems to be sailing towards being nominated to be the Republican nominee for the presidency. And the possibility that he will, in fact, be elected a year and a half from now or something like that. And that is a prospect that fills most Europeans, most, not necessarily all, but certainly most Europeans with, what can only be described as sheer horror.
Supporters of the Popular Mobilization Forces protest in Tahrir Square in Baghdad to denounce the burning of the Quran and the Iraqi flag in Stockholm.
Sweden, the Quran, and NATO
When Sweden announced in May that it wanted to join NATO, much of the world treated its membership as a done deal. Then, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reminded us that NATO’s requirement of unanimous consent gave him veto power.
A month later, an incident in Stockholm appeared to fuel Erdogan’s resistance to Sweden’s accession. An Iraqi-born expat publicly burned a copy of the Quran in the capital, an act Sweden’s government insisted it was powerless to forbid under Swedish law. This angered governments, leaders, and citizens across the Muslim world, including Erdogan.
Then, at last week’s NATO Summit in Vilnius, Erdogan surprised the world by announcing that Turkey would not stand in Sweden’s way. A grateful Biden administration responded with a pledge to send Turkey F-16 fighter jets that Erdogan badly wants. Again the world’s media declared that Sweden’s path was certain … until Erdogan added that Turkey’s parliament wouldn’t provide final signoff until October.
On Thursday, Quran-desecrating protesters reappeared in Stockholm and publicly damaged a book they said was the Quran. Rioters in Iraq responded by storming the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad and setting it on fire, and the Iraqi government expelled the Swedish ambassador. Governments in Europe fumed at the Iraqi government’s failure to protect the Embassy.
And now? We’re left with a group of protesters in Sweden who’ve discovered they can generate international headlines whenever they want, a political issue that continues to pit European and Muslim governments against one another, and the reality that, with those American F-16s still on the runway, Sweden’s membership in NATO will continue to depend on the goodwill of Turkey’s government for at least several more months.