After widespread condemnations.. Sweden backs down: Burning a copy of the Quran is anti-Islam

Afrasianet - The Swedish government condemns the burning of a copy of the Holy Quran a few days ago in Stockholm, describing it as an "anti-Islamic act", after a wide wave of international condemnations.

On the first day of Eid al-Adha, a video clip spread showing a young man tearing up a copy of the Noble Qur’an at the Stockholm Central Mosque, after the Swedish police granted him permission to organize the protest following an official decision.

The video clip sparked widespread anger in all Arab countries, and tweeters denounced the authorities in Sweden for allowing these actions, which they described as "extremist".

Hours ago, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation called for collective measures against the repeated desecration of the Noble Qur’an and insult to the Prophet

Muhammad, according to what Saudi state television reported.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation stressed the need to apply international law to prohibit religious hatred, stressing that “the desecration of the Qur’an and insulting the Prophet are not ordinary “Islamophobia” incidents.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had condemned the burning of a copy of the Qur'an, saying that "disrespecting the Qur'an is a crime in Russia, unlike some other countries."

Several countries expressed their strong condemnation of insulting the Holy Qur’an, holding the Swedish government responsible, and said that “insulting the Qur’an is an unacceptable crime of racial incitement, and in no way is it done to freedom of opinion, expression and belief.”

Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Egypt renewed its call to all Islamic and Arab peoples to boycott Swedish products, while the European Union condemned this step, stressing that it is an "insulting and provocative act."

This is not the first time that Sweden has allowed the burning of copies of the Noble Qur’an. Earlier, the Swedish police allowed the head of the extremist Danish Line party, Rasmus Paludan, to organize a demonstration.

Paludan caused riots in Sweden when he toured the country and publicly burned copies of the Holy Qur’an. The Quran. Swedish politicians criticized the burning of the Koran. Police said the January demonstration had made Sweden a "target for attacks".

The crime of burning the Holy Qur’an..Why is it repeated in Europe?

In a demonstration that coincided with Eid al-Adha and was authorized by the Swedish police, a man burned a copy of the Noble Qur’an.

Does this condemned act reflect a growing “Islamophobia” in Europe? The Swedish police granted a permit to organize a demonstration aimed at burning a copy of the Holy Qur’an in conjunction with the blessed Eid al-Adha (the biggest holiday for Muslims around the world).

During yesterday's demonstration, Silwan Momika (37 years old), of Iraqi origin, burned a copy of the Qur'an to "highlight the importance of freedom of expression," as he claims.

The green light to organize this demonstration came two weeks after a Swedish appeals court rejected a police decision refusing to grant permits for two demonstrations in Stockholm during which the Qur’an was to be burned, and the authorities postponed the two demonstrations for fear of backlash.

Repeated abuse The crime of burning a copy of the Qur’an was not the first, and Sweden is not the first country in which this condemnable act takes place.

On January 21, the leader of the far-right Danish "hard line" party, Rasmus Paludan, burned a copy of the Koran in Stockholm in front of the Turkish embassy, denouncing Stockholm's negotiations with Ankara regarding Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Not a few days had passed since that event, until the anti-Islam leader of the "European Patriots Against the Islamization of the West" (PEGIDA), Edwin Wagensfeld, tore a sheet from the Holy Qur'an and sought to burn it under the watch of the Dutch authorities.

During the year 2022, the Qur’an was burned 3 times. The first was at the hands of the leader of the “Stop the Islamization of Norway” movement, Lars Thorne, and he burned a copy of the Noble Qur’an in a neighborhood where a large Muslim community lives on the outskirts of the capital, Oslo.

During the year 2021, an extremist Norwegian anti-Islam group belonging to the Stop Islamization of Norway (SIAN) movement tore pages from the Qur’an during an anti-Islam demonstration in the capital, Oslo, and activists of the extremist Paludan party burned a copy of the Qur’an in the Swedish city of Malmö. Since the events of September 11, right-wing Western governments, led by the administration of former US President George W. Bush, have tried to spread Islamophobia in the West, and the incident of insulting the Noble Qur’an has been repeated during the past years, and the incidents of burning the Noble Qur’an by demonstrators in the United States, and by American soldiers in Afghanistan, and most of the time this event witnesses condemnations and demonstrations around the world.

Does the burning of the Qur'an reflect a growing "Islamophobia" in Europe?

The leader of the far-right Danish "hard line" party, Rasmus Paludan, has burned the Holy Qur'an in various cities of Denmark since 2017, and in the opinion of observers, in his repetition of this behavior, he follows in the footsteps of the leaders of the far-right in the European political arena, who consider that hostility Islam and Muslim immigrants have a trump card to gain popularity in any elections they run.

The expansion of the extreme right in Europe appears evident through its groups’ contempt for the religious sanctities that the communities believe in, as well as the immigrants themselves, as Paludan called for violence, where he said: “The blood of foreign enemies will end in the sewers where the foreigners belong.”

Events soon subsided. Hatred in one European part until it erupts in another. This happened when the French satirical magazine "Charlie Hebdo" republished its cartoons, insulting to the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, in September of the year 2020.

Research by The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention Brå on May 3, 2021 concluded that many people living in Sweden have stereotypical and negative perceptions of Muslims, and that these perceptions and ideas help provide fertile ground for hate crimes and discrimination.

Islamophobic hate crimes take many forms and are not limited to a particular type of place, time or person. Among the police reports examined during the study, threats and harassment represented the largest category of crimes, followed by incitement against a group of the population, defamation, violent crimes, incitement against Muslims in social media, and hate crimes of varying degrees.

In the same context, the growth of the extreme right in Europe establishes cooperation and coordination between right-wing groups, and the most complex problem is when “Islamophobia” has a political card to win votes in general or local elections, and this is indeed what happened with Rasmus Paludan, who lost in the local elections in Copenhagen, but in 2019 Paludan received huge media coverage, qualifying him to enter the general elections.

As a result of the expansion of extremist ideology, raids and arrest campaigns were launched targeting Islamic civil society organizations and mosques in the name of protecting the state, even though such policies in reality undermine basic freedoms protected by the constitution, such as freedom of religion, belief, expression, and thought.

Burning the Quran between freedom of expression and hate speech The Holy Qur’an represents a symbol of a belief that more than a billion people adhere to, and everyone who burns the Qur’an mocks that belief and its adherents. We cannot argue that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees freedom of opinion and expression, and also guarantees the right to demonstrate in countries with democratic systems, and groups have the right to express their opinions, but there is a huge difference between expressing an opinion and carrying out hate speech against religions.

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression. This right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”