| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Dozens arrested at Sweden riots sparked by planned Quran burnings |
| 2022-04-18 |
| [BBC] More than 40 people have been arrested after violent clashes in Sweden between police and people angry at plans by a far-right group to burn copies of the Quran. Three people were injured in Norrkoping on Sunday when officers fired warning shots at rioters, police said. The violence was sparked by a series of rallies organised by the Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan. He says he has burned a copy of Islam's holy book and wants to do so again. Muslims consider the Quran the sacred word of God and view any intentional damage or show of disrespect towards it as deeply offensive. Saudi Arabia has condemned what it called the "deliberate abuse of the holy Quran by some extremists in Sweden, and provocation and incitement against Muslims". Iran and Iraq earlier summoned the Swedish ambassadors to lodge protests. Sweden's national police chief, Anders Thornberg, said he had never seen such violent riots following Sunday's clashes in Norrkoping, which is about 160km (99 miles) south-west of Stockholm, and nearby Linkoping. The two cites also witnessed riots on Friday, along with the Stockholm suburb of Rinkeby and the western city of Orebro. On Saturday, there was a riot in the southern city of Malmo. On Monday, police said 26 police officers and 14 members of the public had been injured in the violence and that more than 20 vehicles had been damaged or destroyed. They said that around 200 people had been involved in the violence, adding they believed it was organised by networks of criminal gangs. Some of the individuals are already known to police and Sweden's security service, Sapo. Sunday's violence in Norrkoping came after Rasmus Paludan said he planned to hold a rally there. However, he never showed up in the city. In a statement posted by his far-right, anti-immigrant Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party, Paludan said he cancelled the rally because Swedish authorities had "shown that they are completely incapable of protecting themselves and me". He had earlier appeared on Thursday in the central city of Jonkoping, but as he talked into a megaphone while holding a Quran, his words were drowned out by a priest ringing the bells of a local church in protest. Protests against plans by Stram Kurs to burn the Quran have turned violent in Sweden before. In 2020, protesters set cars on fire and shop fronts were damaged in clashes in Malmö. Paludan represented Stram Kurs party in the last Danish elections in 2019, where it received 1.8 % of the vote, failing to win a seat. In 2020, he was jailed in Denmark for a month for a string of offences including racism. He plans to stand in Swedish elections in September, but he reportedly does not yet have the necessary number of signatures to secure his candidature. Related: Rasmus Paludan: 2022-04-17 Clashes Erupt in Sweden before far-right rally to burn Holy Qur'an Rasmus Paludan: 2022-02-27 Danish Qu’ran-Burning Anti-Islam Activists to Hold Demonstration in Sweden Rasmus Paludan: 2020-09-04 Swedish Muslims chant about killing Jews at Malmo protest Related: Linkoping: 2019-06-08 Explosion that ripped through two Swedish apartment buildings was caused by a BOMB placed outside, police believe Linkoping: 2015-11-08 Migration Tests Sweden's 'Humanitarian Superpower' Image Linkoping: 2005-11-19 Sweden investigates Iraqi for Saddam-era crimes Related: Rinkeby: 2021-01-29 Europe Muslim Rinkeby: 2018-08-15 Masked vandals torch dozens of cars in Sweden Rinkeby: 2018-03-11 Europe Related: Orebro: 2022-04-17 Clashes Erupt in Sweden before far-right rally to burn Holy Qur'an Orebro: 2017-10-03 Europe Orebro: 2016-03-16 Syrian Arrested in Sweden for War Crimes |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #10 PS: If you have the same beliefs and hate towards Muslims as Neo Nazi's do, you may just be a Neo Nazi and not realize it. |
| Posted by: Chuque Barnsmell6454 2022-04-18 21:50 |
| #9 These same right wing nut jobs would go absolutely crazy if Muslims burned Bibles. I am no fan of any religion. None of them are peaceful nor tolerant. |
| Posted by: Chuque Barnsmell6454 2022-04-18 21:48 |
| #8 So they idolize the book, but destroy other idols? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2022-04-18 15:45 |
| #7 Should burn a Koran in front of any Muslim that wants to move to the west. Then accept or deny them depending upon the response. Burn other Holy books at the same time if necessary to make the point the Koran isn't targeted, but it's not special under the law either. |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2022-04-18 15:45 |
| #6 Porkoranimals. |
| Posted by: Woodrow 2022-04-18 14:34 |
| #5 The Koran -- the book venerated by so many illiterate that the traditional ordering of its volumes is by size rather than temporal order. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2022-04-18 14:20 |
| #4 Oregon sheriff warns of surging violent crime in Portland: 'Without action, we can expect worse to come' |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2022-04-18 09:06 |
| #3 Pörtlånd |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2022-04-18 08:08 |
| #2 Three people injured in riots in Sweden |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2022-04-18 08:06 |
| #1 Belgium expels Danish right-wing activists over plot to burn Koran |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2022-04-18 07:52 |