Stockholm, Europe Brief News – Riots in Sweden broke out between police and protesters over intentions to burn Quran copies. This has resulted in the arrest of more than 40 individuals.
Officers in Norrkoping fired warning bullets at rioters on Sunday, injuring three persons, according to the police. Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan called for the demonstrations that set off the violence.
He claims to have already incinerated a copy of the Qur’an and now intends to do it once more. Intentional harm or disrespect to the Quran is considered profoundly insulting by Muslims, who believe it as God’s special message.
Riots took place in Örebro, Sweden today after a Swedish politician attempted to burn a Koran. Take a look.pic.twitter.com/xjeV6qt6ke
— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) April 16, 2022
According to Saudi Arabia, “Some radicals in Sweden “deliberately abuse the holy Quran and commit violence against Muslims.”
Riots in Sweden Getting Out of Hand
Police commander Anders Thornberg of Sweden has never witnessed riots like in Norrkoping and Linkoping on Sunday, around 160 kilometers (99 miles) south of Stockholm.
As well as Rinkeby and Orebro, two Stockholm suburbs, rioting broke out in these cities on Friday. There was an outbreak of violence in Malmo on Saturday.
Police reported injuries to 26 police officers and 14 members of the public on Monday and the destruction or damage of more than 20 cars.
They estimated the number of participants at 200 and stated criminal gang networks orchestrated the violence. Police and Sweden’s national security agency, Sapo, already have information on some suspects.
Increased Violence after the Announcement of Demonstration
Rasmus Paludan announced his intention to host a demonstration in Norrkoping the day before the unrest on Sunday. But he never made it into town.
“Swedish authorities have demonstrated that they are incapable of safeguarding themselves and me,” Paludan said in a statement uploaded by his far-right, anti-immigrant Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party.
Earlier that day, he had made an appearance in the Swedish city of Jonkoping, where he held a Quran and spoke through a megaphone, but his remarks were overpowered by the protesting bells of a nearby church.
Protests in Sweden over Stram Kurs’s Quran-burning intentions have in the past turned violent. During confrontations in Malmö in 2020, protestors burned vehicles on fire and destroyed storefronts.
Paludan Facing Backlash
Stram Kurs Party candidate Paludan garnered 1.8 percent of the vote in the 2019 Danish elections but did not earn a seat.
He was sentenced to a month in prison in Denmark in 2020 for many offenses, including racial discrimination. He intends to run for office in Sweden in September, but he has yet to obtain the signatures he needs to do so. And his chances are looking fairly slim now!
