Kuwait to print 100,000 Qurans in Swedish in response to holy book burning

The Kuwaiti government has unveiled plans to publish 100,000 copies of the Quran in Swedish to be distributed in Sweden to promote tolerance, Islamic values and coexistence.

The decision came as a response to the controversial Quran-burning incident that took place in Stockholm on the day coinciding with the Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday last month.

The Council of Ministers approved the initiative proposed by Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, local reports said, adding that Public Authority for Public Care will be tasked with the responsibility of printing and publishing the translated copies of the Quran.

This move aimed to "affirm the tolerance of the Islamic religion and promote Islamic values and coexistence among all human beings", according to the Kuwaiti News Agency (KUNA).

Printing of the translated Quran was expected to be completed soon, the statement said, adding that copies will be distributed to mosques, libraries, schools, and other institutions across Sweden.

The translation was carried out by Knut Bernstrom, a renowned Swedish translator and convert to Islam who has since passed away.

Kuwait, along with several other Muslim-majority and Arab nations, denounced the Quran-burning incident in Sweden.

Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence accused the Iraqi man who reportedly burned the holy Quran in Sweden last month of being a Mossad agent.

In a statement, the ministry claimed that Salwan Momika had been working with the Israeli intelligence service as "an agent since 2019".

The ministry also alleged that it had collected intelligence from "relevant sources linked to the act and crossed-referenced initial findings with pre-existing information", enabling it to draw the conclusion.

There was no independent confirmation of the Iranian government's claims.

Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi refugee residing in Sweden, allegedly stomped on the Quran and set several pages alight in front of a Stockholm mosque in late June.