The Swedish police have granted permission for a protest outside a Stockholm mosque where the organizer plans to burn the Quran, local media reported on Wednesday.
The protest is set to take place outside the mosque at Medborgarplatsen later in the day and coincides with the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday. "Constitutional protection takes precedence over the fire ban," a police spokesperson told Aftonbladet.
The move comes amid Stockholm's efforts to join NATO, which have been stalled by Turkey over Quran-burning incidents in the Scandinavian country. Earlier this month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan noted Ankara is not likely to approve Sweden's membership in the alliance ahead of the NATO summit in July, stressing Stockholm has to do "something against terrorism" and Islamophobia before Turkey could approve it joining the alliance.