February 17, 2023
The Islamic Republic has gone into orbit almost daily the last few weeks over the January burning of a Qoran in Sweden by Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the obscure Swedish Stram Kurs Party. The regime has portrayed the Swedish government as supporting the Qoran incineration as a show of animosity for Islam and has mocked the Swedish government’s statements that it allowed what Paludan did because of freedom of expression.
But the Swedish government denied permission for a February 9 rally that would have burned another Qoran. The commander of the Pasdaran, Maj. Gen. Hossain Salami, said the West cannot bear the “magnificence” of the Qoran so they choose to desecrate it. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenehi said the incineration proves the “arrogant powers” are out to destroy Islam itself. In the Swedish parliamentary elections last year, Paludan’s party got 156 votes out of 6-1/2 million cast.