Swedish police authorize protest by man who plans to burn Torah, Bible outside Israeli Embassy

Supporters of Shiite Muslim leader Moqtada Sadr burn rainbow flags, during a demonstration in Sadr City, in response to the burning of Quran in Sweden, Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, July 12, 2023. Israeli officials called on the Swedish government to stop the protest, which is scheduled to take place Saturday outside the diplomatic mission. Sweden recently faced strong criticism from Muslim countries for allowing protesters to burn the Quran at small anti-Islam demonstrations. The man who filed the request for Saturday's protest, said he wanted to burn the Torah and the Bible outside the Israeli Embassy in response to a Quran-burning outside a Stockholm mosque last month by an Iraqi immigrant. A similar protest by a far-right activist was held outside Turkey's Embassy earlier this year, complicating Sweden's efforts to convince Turkey to let it join NATO.