Sweden on quest to restore trust with Muslim countries

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström will soon hold new meetings in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Algeria to rebuild trust following this year’s multiple Quran burnings, Billström said on Thursday.

While talks between Swedish representatives and the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) during last week’s UN meeting in New York have improved the currently rather strained relations, Billström believes there is still work to be done.

“It will take a long time to rebuild trust. My priority for the remainder of my mandate will be to work with these states”, he said to the Swedish press.

Sweden has witnessed several Quran burnings over the summer, which, while permitted and protected under the umbrella of freedom of expression, have seriously damaged Sweden’s image in the Muslim world.

Thousands of people demonstrated in several Muslim-majority countries, and OIC called an emergency meeting of 57 foreign ministers.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, among others, called on his citizens to protest against Sweden, emphasising national unity over the Quran.

In addition to the protests, Iraq broke off diplomatic relations with Sweden, ambassadors were recalled, and the embassy in Baghdad was violently stormed.

A disinformation campaign also emerged online, targeting several Muslim-majority countries, with false claims that Swedish social services are involved in child abduction.

According to Billström, Sweden’s efforts to regain the trust of the OIC countries began in earnest during the UN General Assembly in New York in September and will be intensified with planned trips to Oman, Saudi Arabia and Algeria soon.

“My impression is that we have made some progress through intensive diplomatic efforts. We have talked to several states this summer about how we see the situation in Sweden,” said Billström.

One step in rebuilding trust is to explain to Muslim countries that while Sweden takes the Quran burnings seriously, it intends to remain a country where religion can be criticised, even in ways that may offend believers, Billström stressed, while reminding that Sweden also has many friends in the Muslim world.

“Sweden has every interest in reconciliation with the OIC countries, given the growing number of its citizens who come from these countries,” a source close to the matter told Euractiv, adding that this was a perfect pretext for Turkey to block Sweden’s NATO bid for months.

However, it has been revealed by Turkish President Erdogan himself that Turkey will say yes to Sweden’s NATO bid if the US keeps its promise to sell F-16 fighter jets to Ankara.

Asked about this on SVT‘s Aktuellt programme, Billström said that this was an important message from Erdogan but that Sweden was not involved in the deal at all.

(Charles Szumski | Euractiv.com)