Long known for its multiculturalism, Sweden has recently witnessed unprecedented tensions accompanied by palpable and, alas, justified concerns about the safety of Swedish nationals abroad.
Last summer, demonstrators in Ankara, Beirut, Islamabad and Jakarta set fire to the Swedish flag. In Iraq and Lebanon, protests also boiled over, with demonstrators alternately throwing cocktail molotovs and storming the country’s embassies. And in Brussels on 17 October, two fans of the Swedish football team who were in the city to watch the Belgium-Sweden match were killed by a man who claimed to have been inspired by the Islamic State.
