Stockholm: Following a January protest that infuriated Turkiye, Swedish police on Wednesday rejected permission for a protest that involved the burning of a Qur'an, delaying Sweden's pending NATO application.

Swedish police rarely forbid protests because they view them as protected by the right to peaceful assembly. However, in this case, police cited the possibility that the protest might incite terror attacks or attacks against Swedish interests.

The small, obscure Swedish group Apallarkerna applied for a demonstration permit to protest against NATO membership. Like the earlier demonstration organised by far-right activist Rasmus Paludan, this one would involve the burning of a Qur'an in front of Turkey's Stockholm embassy.

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It can be determined that the Qur'an burning outside the Turkish embassy in January 2023 increased threats against Sweden, Swedish interests abroad, and Swedes abroad, according to the police decision, which was read by AFP.

It continued, "Sweden has elevated to a higher priority target for attacks."

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At the end of January, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that Sweden could no longer count on Turkey to ratify its NATO membership application as long as Qur'anic burning was permitted. Sweden was already accused by Ankara of harbouring Kurdish "terrorists."

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Sweden broke decades of military non-alignment and applied to join NATO. Turkiye and Hungary are the last two holdouts to do so.

The Qur'an burning by Paludan, which was done in front of cameras and under the protection of police officers, sparked anti-Swedish protests in a number of Muslim nations.

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Since then, talks about Turkey joining NATO have been put on hold. The Swedish security service, Sapo, issued a warning on Wednesday regarding a growing terrorist threat to Sweden and Swedish interests.