Ahmed Alush, the 32-year-old man from Sweden who received permission on Friday to burn the Torah in front of the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, has admitted that he was just trying to attract attention and never had any intention of burning the holy Jewish texts.
“As a Muslim, I don’t burn books,” he said, speaking to Swedish media, explaining that his goal was simply to the issue.
On Friday, local Swedish police approved the burning of Jewish and Christian texts at a protest on Saturday afternoon, July 15.
The event, if it were to be held, would come just days after the burning of a Quran outside of a Stockholm mosque, an act which was widely condemned around the world, as well as in Israel.
However, instead of bringing the Jewish scriptures with him to his protest, the lone man arrived with nothing but a lighter, which he threw on the ground as he arrived.
A person who has been given permission by the police for a public gathering to burn a Torah and a Bible outside the Isaeli embassy, holds a Koran in his hand after choosing not to burn the books, according to local media, in Stockholm, Sweden July 15, 2023. (credit: TT NEWS AGENCY/MAGNUS LEJHALL/VIA REUTERS)In his speech to the Swedish media, he stressed that burning books would be against his religion and that his intention had been to highlight how “nobody should be doing that.”
Condemnation from Israel and the Jewish Diaspora
Following reports of Alush’s intention to burn a Torah on Friday, the act was strongly condemned both by Israeli leaders and Jewish communities in Europe.
“I strongly condemn Swedish authorities’ decision to the burning of the Hebrew Bible in front of the Israeli embassy in its country,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
“The State of Israel takes very seriously this shameful decision that harms the most sacred [scripture] of the Jewish people. The holy books of all religions must be respected.”
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said that burning of the Torah, was “a hate crime, a provocation and a serious blow to the Jewish people and its traditions.”
“I call on the Swedish authorities to prevent this despicable event and not to allow the burning of a Torah,” Cohen said.
The Foreign Minister said he has spoken with Israel’s Ambassador to Sweden Ziv Nevo Kulman and the Foreign Ministry to do everything possible to prevent “this shameful incident.”
Kulman tweeted, “I utterly condemn the burning of holy books sacred to any religion, as an act of hate and disrespect, that has nothing to do with freedom of expression.”
Zvika Klein and Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.
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