Muslim leaders in Sweden were behind the cancelation of a planned demonstration in front of the Israeli embassy in Stockholm which included the public burning of a Torah scroll, a local rabbi has said.

The Israeli foreign ministry announced Thursday that it had succeeded in stopping the “shocking and humiliating event from taking place.” The request for the demonstration had been submitted by an Egyptian writer who resides in the country, and in accordance with Sweden’s strict laws surrounding the rights to freedom of expression, had been given the green light by the police.

However, according to Swedish-Israeli rabbi, Moshe David HaCohen, it was the city’s local Muslim leaders who stopped the event from happening.

“The burning of the Torah scroll was prevented thanks to the leadership of the Muslim community in Sweden,” HaCohen told the Jerusalem Post.
According to HaCohen, who founded Swedish interfaith organization Amanah, “those who worked behind the scenes and approached the Egyptian writer were people from the Muslim community in Stockholm and also the Muslim leadership, associated with the Amanah organization.
“We at Amanah have been working for cooperation on mutual religious and minority issues in Sweden for five years,” he said.

Days earlier, a Koran was burned by the leader of a Danish far-right party during a police-sanctioned demonstration against Turkey in front of its Swedish embassy.

In that case, too, HaCohen said, Sweden’s Jewish communities, led by Amanah, issued a statement “strongly condemning” the act, and demanding a change in law “by limiting the laws of freedom of speech.”