Following Quran`s burning threat of attacks increased in Sweden  

RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – Burning Quran by a far-right activist in Sweden has increased the threat of attacks in the Scandinavian country.

The Swedish domestic security agency, as AP reported, noted that international reactions to the events outside the embassy last month” have been extensive” and “the assessment is that the security situation has deteriorated.”

“Sweden is judged to be in greater focus than before for violent Islamism globally,” the security service, which is known by the Swedish acronym SAPO, said.

The security agency, however, did not change Sweden’s terror threat level, which already stood at three on a five-point scale.

Its statement came at time of tensions with mostly Muslim Turkey over the applications of Sweden and Finland to become NATO members.

Turkey is angry that Sweden has allowed anti-Turkish protests to take place, and particularly that it did not prevent an anti-Islam activist from burning the Quran, the Muslim holy book.

Unless its demands are met, Turkey has said it won’t approve Sweden’s NATO application, which requires ratification by all of the military alliance’s 30 members.

Later Wednesday, police in Stockholm said they had turned down an application for permission to burn the Quran during a new protest, saying that “such a gathering is judged to be capable of causing serious disturbances to national security.” Police said the decision was made in consultation with SAPO.

On Sunday, the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm issued a warning of “possible retaliatory attacks by terrorists in the wake of recent Quran-burning incidents in Europe.