Iran and Iraq have ramped up the rhetoric when it comes to threatening the Nordic countries if they allow burning of the Quran. But the authorities cannot force themselves to impose a prohibition. This still leaves room for the provocateurs to enflame muslims and the islamic world.

Whose territory is it anyway? The provocateurs knows fully well what they are doing. The more unhinged ayatollah Khamenei or Erdogan seems, the more the provocateurs enjoy their show.

Minister of Foreign Affairs in Sweden and Denmark, Tobias Billström and Lars Løkke Rasmussen, may give vent to their disgust. But it only feed the flames of protest.

The provocateurs are willing to pay the price. They know full well the fate of French teacher Samuel Pay, Charlie Hebdo, and the attempt to kill the artist Lars Vilks in Copenhagen.

A sizeable portion of the public is with the provocateurs, having seen through the threats from Muslim authorities: It is like writing a blank cheque and they suspect that their government has done so.

Thus the more government condemns Quran-burning, the more they lose standing in the eyes of this part of the public. It is a minority, but an adamant, convinced minority, one that will not be silenced.

Strangely the government do not realize that the only way to deal with threats of violence, is letting free speech reign. In the end there is very little the government can do to stop the blasphemy, except introducing legislation that makes Denmark, Sweden or Norway look like Iran or Turkey.