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Rabat – Danish far-right party Stram Kurs (Hard Line) is again in the spotlight for insulting Islam and Muslims, with the party now sparking outrage and frustration among Sweden’s Muslim community due to its ongoing anti-Islam rhetoric.
Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the party, burned a copy of the Quran earlier this week amid protests condemning the party’s Islamophobic acts.
Paludan burned the copy of the Quran in a public area in Linkoping, a heavily Muslim-populated city in southern Sweden.
Protests condemning the move have erupted in several places in Sweden to condemn the party’s brazen Islamophobia.
The Guardian reported today that the anti-Islam far-right political party sparked protests and riots on Saturday in Sweden after the party announced its plans to “burn a Quran, among other things.”
Swedish police reported on stone-throwing, accusing youth of setting cars and tires on fire after authorities “moved” a protest that was scheduled to take place in Landskrona.
No injuries were reported on Saturday but the situation remained tense, according to the Guardian.
Protesters also expressed anger at the lack of police intervention to end anti-Islam acts.
Kim Hild, spokesperson for police in southern Sweden, said on Saturday that police could not revoke permission for Hard Line’s anti-Islam demonstration due to freedom of speech concerns.
The right “to demonstrate and speak outweighs enormously, heavily and it takes an incredible amount for this to be ignored,” Hild told Swedish news agency TT.
Rasmus Paludan’s burning of the Qur’an resulted in violent clashes between demonstrators and people supporting Hard Line’s anti-Islam platform throughout the week.
Several organizations and countries have condemned the Danish party’s Islamophobic acts in Sweden. Malaysia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a press release on Sunday, condemning what it described as hateful actions by Paludan and his party.
“Such action is provocative and incites hatred that must be rejected by all who seek peace and promote peaceful coexistence,” the ministry said.
This is not the first time that Hard Line and its leader Rasmus Paludan have found themselves at the center of controversy for denigrating Islam and desecrating its holy symbols.
In September 2020, the party sparked frustration among the Muslim community in Sweden after burning a copy of the Quran and vowing more Islamophobic stunts.
Pew Research believes that Muslims make up 8% of the population in Sweden in 2016. Sweden’s Muslim community “could grow to 31% Muslim in the high scenario by 2050, compared with 21% in the medium scenario and 11% with no further Muslim migration,” according to Pew Research.
