Sweden considering making Koran burnings illegal

Free speech is more important than Turkey's fundamentalism. Unless the plan is to ban it just until Turkey presses the button, it would be better to stand on principles.

In Sweden you're supposed to be free to express your views about religion, either for or against.

Unless of course, your right to express your views runs counter to the goals of the Neocon warhawks in Washington who want a war with Russia so they can profit off of unlimited weapon's sales.

Freedom of expression is part of the bedrock of a healthy democracy. Books, flags, etc., are all fair game for burning in a democracy. That’s what sets us apart from Iran, North Korea, China, etc.

Free speech ftw! Unfortunately, suppressing one's freedom has become the norm.

Sweden has guaranteed freedom of speech, so burning any book, religious or not, must be allowed.

In Sweden, freedom of expression entails a very far-reaching right for individuals to express thoughts and ideas on any subject. However, it does not mean the freedom to always say practically anything at all. For example, this freedom does not extend to slander or committing an act involving threats or agitation against a national or ethnic group. On the other hand, religions as such are not protected against expressions of opinion that challenge religious messages or that may be perceived as hurtful to believers.

Ref: https://government.se/articles/2023/01/freedom-of-expression-and-freedom-to-demonstrate-in-sweden/

What has burning of books to do with freedom of speech or expression? Saying or writing something else or creating a contradictory book, that’s fine in a democracy, but burning? That’s just uneducated, criminal and barbaric behavior. The similar one you would surely also attest to the Nazi book burning campaign in 1933.

However it isn't legal to just start a fire anywhere and especially if the sole purpose is to cause unrest.

Maybe you should ask what is so wrong with people that they would resort to violence because someone burned a book? People need to relax and realize that allowing people the freedom to express themselves is vastly preferable to the kind of society where certain expressions of belief are proscribed by law.

@Sven Asai

What has burning of books to do with freedom of speech or expression?

I can't think of any stronger way to express your dislike for a book.

Isn't burning a book a bit of a paradox? On one hand, it's expressing your dislike of what the book has to say, but on the other hand, it's restricting the book's (author's) right to say it?

After all, book burning is historically an authoritarian method to suppress dissent, heresy, and so forth.

To compare the burning of the Koran, bible, a flag, a doll or what have you with the Nazi book burnings is incorrect. The Nazis burned certain books to prevent freedom of thought, whereas this issue of burning the Koran has everything to do with protest, freedom of expression.

What ol' Jack Burton always saysToday 12:49 pm JST

People can most certainly express their dislike for something controversial without burning it.

People can most certainly express their dislike of burning something controversial without violence.

Both are violent acts.

Violence against property is not a crime under the law, particularly if it is your property.

It might be argued that burning anything in a public place such as outside a mosque is a risk to public safety. Not sure, but I think in Scotland it might fall foul of "breach of the peace" rules. But is there also not a case for restricting actions that are likely to cause serious division between groups or communities? For example, protests outside abortion clinics, protests at funerals, burning Barbie books outside an elementary school.

If you don't like the Koran, just throw it in the bin.

Give them one freedom and it won't be long before they come for the rest. Sweden is not an Islamic country.

However it isn't legal to just start a fire anywhere and especially if

Clearly you don't understand. It's legal to burn a Koran in Sweden, as it is in the US and many, many other countries.

the sole purpose is to cause unrest.

What do you base this off of? Who determines what the purpose of speech is?

Also, using your "framework" here would curtail basically any political movement. It's analogous to the Civil Rights movement in the US.

If a religion can’t handle their book to be burned then they need to start their own country or move to one they can agree with. Participation trophy mentality.

invalid CSRF

Fact is, religion is a PERSONAL choice. One can't claim freedom of religion if they use their own personal religious views to oppress others who do not adhere to their religion. You'd be surprised of how many Arabic and middle eastern immigrants are well over the over-reaching beliefs of Islam in their lives. Erdogan expects other countries to cow to his religious beliefs. And that must NEVER be allowed for true freedoms that Sweden and other countries uphold to succumb to theocratic oppressive views. Turkey is just being a jerk just to be a jerk at times.

Sweden should not have to resort to decoupling the rights of its citizens at the behest of Erdogan. Erdogan still maintains that Turkey did not commit genocide by massacring 1 million Armenian citizens. And his friendship with Putin is not solitary. India, South Africa, Syria, Iran, china and Belarus fully support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The United Nations is broken. It is time for citizens of the world to stand up and boycott Russia and all its cohorts.