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Sweden grants permission to burn the KORAN outside Turkish embassy - as Erdogan continues to block country's NATO bid
Far-right leader Rasmus Paludan has received permission to burn the Koran
Plans to burn the Muslim holy book last year during a rally led to riots in Orebro
Permit comes amid conflict between Turkey and Sweden over NATO ascension
By JAMES REYNOLDS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 13:42 GMT, 20 January 2023
A far-right leader in Sweden has received permission to burn a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm - as the country battles to convince President Erdogan to let it join NATO.
Rasmus Paludan, 41, has a permit to burn the book in front of the building on Saturday 21 January, to coincide with two related demonstrations planned in protest of Turkey.
Danish-Swedish Paludan said he wants to 'mark some freedom of speech' after the hanging of an effigy of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan near the Stockholm city hall provoked a strong response in Turkey. Sweden also condemned the stunt.
Riots erupted in Malmö in April last year after Paludan visited Sweden ahead of an election, intending to burn the Koran to drum up support for his movement, and previously in August 2020 when activists burned the Koran after Paludan was arrested.
Rasmus Paludan pictured burning a Koran during an election meeting in Stockholm, May 2022
A bus burns as a police officer watches on after riots overnight in Malmo, in the south of Sweden, sparked by an anti-Islam Danish politician carrying out Koran-burning stunts
Cars burn on the streets of Malmo, in southern Sweden, after riots sparked by far-right Danish politician Rasmus Paludan who was on a 'tour' of the country in April 2022
Rasmus Paludan has been at the centre of anti-Islamic politics in northern Europe for several years.
He rose to fame with the launch of his far-right party Stram Kurs, which translates as 'Hard Line', in Denmark in 2017.
The lawyer and YouTuber is known for burning the Koran and for calling for the deportation of all Muslims from Denmark.
Paludan previously said: 'The enemy is Islam and Muslims. The best thing would be if there were not a single Muslim left on this earth. Then we would have reached our final goal.'
Stram Kurs has gained some traction in Denmark as the country's traditional nationalist party, the Danish People's Party, has lost ground.
Protestors and counter-protestors clashed in April last year at a Stram Kurs rally in Orebro
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