Two men in Sweden took part in a demonstration that involved burning a Koran outside a mosque in the centre of the capital Stockholm on Wednesday.

Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at a press conference that the action – taking place on the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha – was permitted, but not appropriate.

Footage from Swedish broadcaster SVT showed a man setting fire to a copy of Islam’s holy scripture behind police cordon tape. Apparently, only one other man took part in the demonstration. Dozens of people gathered behind the cordons, some shouting angry words.

According to the media reports, the public demonstration remained calm. One person who was holding a stone was led away from the site, according to the report.

The Stockholm police had previously given the green light for the small protest. According to the application, seen by the dpa, only two people were expected to attend the demonstration.

Swedish authorities authorized the protest because Swedish courts had ruled that police did not have the right to refuse permission for Koran burnings.

In February, the police refused the request of two organizers to conduct Koran burnings in Stockholm for security reasons.

Islamophobic protests have caused considerable trouble between Sweden and Turkey in recent months.

It is unclear if Wednesday’s Koran burning will cause new problems for Swedish-Turkish relations.

This incident could pose a serious problem for Sweden’s NATO membership application, which they submitted more than a year ago. It is still blocked by Turkey and Hungary. New members must be approved unanimously by all existing NATO members.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has repeatedly accused Sweden of not taking action against “terrorist organizations,” an apparent reference to mostly Kurdish political groups from Turkey that operate in exile in the country such as the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK).

Sweden has recently tightened its terrorism laws and the country’s supreme court approved the first extradition to Turkey of an alleged PKK supporter.

Read more on Sweden: How the far right are trying to deter refugees from entering Sweden

It would be foolhardy to state that recent events of anti-Muslim abuse on buses in London have not had an impact on Muslim communities in the capital and beyond. They have and given the way that the material has been shared online, the comments and the videos of the abuse have sickened many who saw the hate meted out by members of Black and Minority Ethnic communities against others.

One victim was a Turkish male who had a disability and whose walking frame was flung onto the pavement by the young perpetrator, as he walked off pushing his young child in front of him in a pushchair. The second victim was a Moroccan female with a Hijab (headscarf), who was visiting London and here to meet relatives in the capital. One only shudders to think about the kind of impression the female will have of our capital after the events of the last week, though we can take solace in the fact that our police acted decisively and quickly on both cases. Arrests were made and charges have followed.

Yet, given the sickening comments and levels of aggression shown, it is important to always contextualise the fact that we live in one of the safest capitals in the world. Compared to Europe, our country is streaks ahead in tackling racism and prejudice and in work around tackling hate crimes. Granted, there is a lot to be done, no-one can deny that and we are at the coal-face of the work, but when you compare it to some European Union countries who officially state that they have no hate crimes in their countries, you start to realise that we are lucky to live here on our tiny island.

We are also aware that there are some Muslim females who have contacted us to say that they are fearful of going outside of their homes to do their daily activities. To them we say this. By changing your daily lives, you are allowing the perpetrators to affect you and to control your lives and your activities. The only way to break cycles of abuse is to do the opposite to the fear that they bring on. In this instance, we urge individuals to get on with their daily lives and hold onto the fact that our capital is a beacon of hope, safety and security in this continent. Only be challenging our own private fears, can we truly realise our potential.

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