On Friday, protests broke out in Malmö, a city in southern Sweden, with around 300 participants. After hours of unrest, the protests finally subsided on Saturday. Several police officers were injured as a result of the clashes with the demonstrators. Consequently, around 10 to 20 participants were detained. However, the spokesperson for the Swedish police, Patric Fors, said that the forces had released all those arrested during the demonstrations.
The protests were a result of an anti-Muslim far-right rally in Rosengrad, which has a large migrant population. The meeting was conducted to discuss the “Islamisation in the Nordic Countries”. During the event, the Quran, the holy book for Muslims, was set on fire. Further, on Friday, the Daily Aftonbladet, a Swedish newspaper, reported that several other anti-Muslim incidents also occurred as a result of this meeting. Consequently, six participants were charged for incitement of racial hatred and arrested.
The rally was organised by Rasmus Paludan, the founding leader of a Danish anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim party called Stram Kurs, which translates to Hard Line. He was expected to attend the rally on Friday; however, he was stopped at the Danish-Swedish border. Calle Persson, a spokesperson for Malmo’s police force, said, “We suspect that he was going to break the law in Sweden … There was also a risk that his behaviour would pose a threat to society.” Consequently, he has been banned from entering Sweden for two years. Responding to the decision by the Swedish authorities, he posted on Facebook saying, “Send back and banned from Sweden for two years. However, rapists and murderers are always welcome!”
Last year, Paludan found himself at the centre of a controversy after he burned a Quran that was wrapped in bacon. Earlier this year, as a result of several incidents of racism and hate speech, he was charged and sentenced for three months in Denmark. He has been charged with several such short sentences for acts of discrimination and defamation since the formation of his party in 2017.
On Saturday, a day after the protests in Sweden, similar clashes broke out in Norway too. The violence in Oslo was a result of a rally taken out by an organisation called “Stop Islamisation of Norway” (SIAN) near the Norwegian parliament. During the demonstration, a woman tore and spat on the Quran. This resulted in the assembly of counter-protestors, who gathered and chanted “No racists in our streets”. They then threw eggs on the SIAN demonstrators and attacked police barricades and vehicles.
Protests Break Out in Sweden in Response to Anti-Muslim Rally
The protests were in response to the burning of the Quran during an event, which was organised to discuss "Islamisation in the Nordic Countries."
August 31, 2020
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS