Paludan's antics have drawn condemnation not only from the governments of Muslim countries, but also from the secular West. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was quick to condemn the incident as “deeply disrespectful”, while a spokesman of the United States State Department called it “repugnant”, “disgusting” and “vile”. 

Paludan's burning of the Quran is the latest in a series of incidents exposing the troubled relationship between the West, where free speech is fundamental, and the Islamic world, where religion looms large in private and public spheres.   

Debates over whether Islam is compatible with democracy, or whether the West can allow absolute freedom of speech, will not be resolved anytime soon, but the burning of the Quran can certainly trigger security concerns. 

It does not help that the incident itself was triggered by the political tensions between Sweden and Turkey over the latter’s refusal to approve the former’s bid to join NATO. Turkey has demanded Stockholm end its support for Kurdish separatist groups and prevent rallies critical of the Turkish leadership. Also, Paludan made his move as tensions run high between Western Europe and Russia over the war in Ukraine. 

While a majority of Muslims have shown restraint, some hard-liners have resorted to violence in expressing their anger in previous incidents. Indonesia, which hosts the world's largest Muslim population, needs to take the issue seriously. 

The government so far has shown a measured response to the incident, ensuring that it issued a strong condemnation to channel the anger of its Muslim population, while at the same time going through diplomatic channels to resolve the matter. Last week, the Foreign Ministry summoned the Swedish ambassador to clarify the position of her government. 

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