Sweden, right-wing extremist attempts to burn the Quran

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Hjalmar Kristersson, condemnedRasmus Paludan's extremist gesture of burning the Koran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.

Rasmus Paludan is a Danish politician and lawyer, founder and leader of the far-right Stram Kurs party. Paludan was the protagonist of various anti-Islamic public events during which copies of the Koran were burned, resulting in riots and counter-protests, some marked by violence, clashes with the police and car fires. Stram Kurs, "Hard Line", is a Danish far-right political party founded in 2017 by the lawyer. The political structure is almost exclusively associated with its founder and with strong anti-Islam and xenophobic positions.

The act was provocative and clearly a hate crime. Swedish-Danish activist Paludan is a controversial figure, having been banned from entering Sweden for 2 years in 2020. Later that year, in October, he was barred from entering Germany after announcing that he would lead an anti-Muslim demonstration in Berlin.

Many Muslim countries have expressed outrage. Morocco said they were "astonished" that the authorities allowed the act to take place "in front of Swedish security forces". Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also condemned the incident, as did the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Indonesia said that "the act of blasphemy against the holy book has wounded and tarnished religious tolerance", adding that "freedom of expression must be exercised responsibly" .

Muslims must not retaliate violently in the face of grave provocation!

Only barbarians burn books!

Editorial