Sweden group’s plan to burn Qur’an criticized by Muslim countries

Muslim countries across the globe have criticized strenuously plans by notorious far-right organisation Stram Kurs of Sweden to burn copies of the Qur’an, Islam’s holiest book, during Ramadan.

Over the weekend, clashes erupted in Norrkoping, Linkoping, Rinkeby, Malmo, Orebro, and Stockholm, as police attempted to avert the book burning.

Saudi Arabia criticised the group’s “deliberate” misrepresentation of the Qur’an as an incitement against Muslims, urging the promotion of a culture of discussion, tolerance, and religious cooperation.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs conveys the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s disapproval of certain extremists in Sweden’s purposeful distortion of the Holy Qur’an, provocations, and incitement against Muslims,” the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a statement.

The Kingdom emphasized the critical nature of rejecting intolerance, extremism, and exclusion, while simultaneously advocating measures to avoid abuses against all religious groups and sacred places.

Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Malaysia, and Qatar, among others, denounced Stram Kurs’s proposals. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Muslim World League, and the Arab Parliament, the Arab League’s legislative body, all objected as well.

Statement from the #MuslimWorldLeague: pic.twitter.com/9JSaIOODw9

— Muslim World League (@MWLOrg_en) April 18, 2022

Swedish police stated in a statement on Monday that 40 people, including 26 police officers, had been hurt, more than 20 cars had been damaged or destroyed, and 26 individuals had been detained over the days of violence.

Rasmus Paludan, a Danish-Swedish lawyer and far-right politician who established Stram Kurs in 2017, was scheduled to join Sunday’s march in Norrkoping but never came, according to Swedish media.

Paludan stated in a statement posted late Sunday by Stram Kurs that the event was canceled because organizers believed the Swedish police would be unable to “defend themselves and me.”

The uproar began on April 15 when Paludan uploaded a photo of himself holding a book that appeared to be on fire at the corners with his 4,700 Instagram followers. “Qur’an on fire in Rinkeby,” the caption says.

The next day, he appeared to encourage his social media followers to follow suit with a post titled “Time to burn the Qur’an.”

Although still a fringe group in Scandinavian politics, Stram Kurs has gained traction in recent years, most notably in the aftermath of the 2015 European refugee crisis, during which millions of people fleeing conflict and instability in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia began arriving on European soil.

Stram Kurs and other far-right parties habitually incite hate toward Muslims, economic migrants, and refugees, even advocating for their wholesale deportation in order to “preserve Sweden’s original ethnic character.”

Paludan, who plans to run in September’s Swedish parliamentary elections, is already traversing the country to drum up support for his candidacy, frequently purposely campaigning in places with sizable Muslim populations.

This is not the first time Paludan has attempted to incite Muslims by calling for the public burning of the Qur’an. His website invited followers in Paris to gather at the Arc de Triomphe in November 2020 to “burn the Qur’an in preparation for the peaceful public gathering.”

Paludan also invited followers to meet in the Brussels district of Molenbeek that month, when “European patriots would burn the Qur’an in flagrant defiance of Islam’s religion.”

Paludan was sentenced to a month in prison in 2020 for inciting hatred against the Muslim community through Stram Kurs’ social media pages. He received a suspended sentence for racism the previous year and was charged with 14 counts, including slander and reckless driving.

Paludan is also not the only prominent figure to foment hostility by his attempt to burn Qur’an copies. Terry Jones, a Florida preacher and head of the nondenominational Dove World Outreach Center, pledged in 2010 to burn the Islamic Quran on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

The planned burning prompted widespread attention, with the Vatican and the United Nations pressing Pastor Jones not to proceed.

David Petraeus, then-commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, warned that the burning could be used by the Taliban and other extremist groups to gain support or promote terrorist acts on Western soil.

“This is precisely the type of activity used by the Taliban, and it has the potential to generate enormous issues. We are involved with the Islamic community not only here, but across the world,” Petraeus stated at the time.

When questioned about Pastor Jones’ proposal on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” then-President Barack Obama also cautioned that the Qur’an burning “might encourage recruiting of folks eager to blow themselves up in US or European cities.”

Pastor Jones canceled the mass burning planned for the 9/11 anniversary in response to public criticism.

It remains to be seen if a comparable censure would deter followers of Paludan and Stram Kurs from carrying out their own burning.