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. 

Umar Hadi, the Foreign Ministry’s director general for America and Europe, said the Indonesian government had expressed its disappointment over the incident and offered to hold a dialog on the challenges of maintaining a pluralistic society. 

Several Muslim groups led by the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and the 212 Alumni have staged rallies in front of the Swedish embassy in Jakarta. The rallies have been largely peaceful, with some protesters being able to meet the deputy Swedish ambassador in Jakarta, Gustav Dahlin. 

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, the country's two largest Muslim organizations, have thus far not advised their followers to join the street protests. This matters because both organizations are considered more representative of the general sentiment of Muslims in the country. 

Simply put, the situation is at least for now, under control. However, the government should remain vigilant as similar incidents could happen more frequently and could have a more global impact, especially with the war in Ukraine still raging, putting NATO and Russia in a bind, if not perpetually on the brink of an all-out war. 

Paludan has reportedly threatened to carry out his antics of burning a copy of the Quran “every Friday” until Turkey supports Sweden’s NATO bid. Hard-liners in Indonesia have responded by threatening to hold a weekly protest in front of the Swedish embassy.  

The world is becoming more volatile with the supremacy of the US is being challenged by major powers like Russia and China, which have become more assertive in recent years. The rise of social media, which has served as a platform for extremists to spread hate speech both in the West and the Islamic world, may also subvert inter-cultural dialog and further divide the world. It can also embolden those farthest to the right to carry out senseless violence. 

Indonesia has long portrayed itself as a bastion of moderate Islam. How it handles far-right provocations aimed at disrupting domestic and global security matters.      

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