According to a survey released on Saturday, 51% of Swedes support a ban on the burning of the Quran and other sacred writings.
According to a poll conducted by prominent research firm Sipo, 34% believe burning holy manuscripts is free speech and expression, while 15% did not respond.
The study was conducted on March 14-16, with 1,370 participants.
Similarly, national broadcaster SVT reported that Danish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan’s offensive remarks about the Muslim holy book cost the country’s coffers 88 million Swedish krona ($8.5 million).
Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right political party Stram Kurs, set fire to the Quran in front of the Turkish Embassy in Sweden’s capital Stockholm in January, surrounded and protected by police.
During a lengthy diatribe in which he viciously criticized Islam and immigration in Sweden, he yelled, “If you don’t believe in free expression, you should live somewhere else.”
Many Muslim countries, notably Turkey, as well as various Charities and human rights organisations, have since criticized the incident.