Crescent International
Sweden has joined a long list of European countries where anti-Islam and anti-Muslim hatred has become widespread.
The latest episode of anti-Muslim hatred was witnessed in Malmo, Sweden’s third largest city when right-wing fascists set a copy of the noble Qur’an on fire.
The Qur’an-burning occurred on Friday August 28 when Muslims gather in large numbers for afternoon prayers.
The white supremacists knew exactly what they were doing: their aim was to provoke Muslims.
Later that evening, Muslims protested against the desecration of their sacred Book.
The far-right fascists had, it seems, anticipated what the Muslim reaction would be, so they had already planned a counter rally.
And they had invited a fascist politician from Denmark, Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish fascist party, Hard Line, to speak at the rally in Malmo.
Sensing trouble, the Swedish authorities banned Paludan’s entry into Sweden for two years.
He had, however, already slipped into Sweden but was arrested before he entered Malmo.
“We suspect that he was going to break the law in Sweden,” Calle Persson, a police spokesperson in Malmo told the French news agency, AFP.
Paludan had shown his anti-Islam hatred last year when he burned a copy of the Qur’an wrapped in bacon.
Pig meat is considered unclean and, therefore, prohibited in Islam.
Swedish fascists in Malmo, however, were not done yet with burning a copy of the Qur'an.
Despite their hateful act earlier in the day, they rioted in Malmo by throwing objects at police officers and setting car tires on fire in the evening.
So violent were the far-right fascist groups that the police had to admit they were not in control of the situation.
“We don’t have this under control, but we are working actively to take control,” police spokesman Rickard Lundqvis said.
“We see a connection between what is happening now and what happened earlier today [burning of the Qur’an by fascist elements].”
The Swedish newspaper, Daily Aftonbladet said several anti-Islam activities took place in Malmo on Friday [August 28] after the ban on Paludan.
Among other hateful acts, three men were seen kicking a copy of the Quran between them in a public square.
The Swedish Islamophobic riots occurred a day after Brenton Tarrant was sentenced to life in prison for massacring 51 Muslims in March 2019.
The slaughter of Muslims in New Zealand had also occurred on a Friday in Christ Church.
In many European countries, anti-Muslim hatred has become mainstream.
There are now political parties that openly espouse hatred against Muslims in the name of free speech.
The consequences for Muslims are horrendous.
