Sweden’s security service, SAPO, has raised its assessment of the level of threat against Sweden to 4 on a scale of 5 amid mounting international tension over the burning of copies of the Quran at demonstrations in the Nordic country.
“The threat against Sweden has gradually changed and the threat of attacks from actors within violent Islamism has increased during the year,” the security service said in a statement.
SAPO said Sweden had gone from being regarded as a legitimate target for “terrorist” attacks to being regarded as a priority target.
In the past few months, Sweden and Denmark have faced a backlash from Muslim countries after a string of anti-Islam activists burned copies of the Quran, the Muslim holy book.
Under free speech laws, Quran burnings are permitted in Sweden, but the act is considered sinful by the Muslim world.
While Denmark and Sweden have condemned the burnings and are considering new legislation to stop them from happening, domestic critics have said it would undermine their laws on protected freedoms.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said religious texts should not be burned.
Credit: aljazeera.com
