Rinkeby, Sweden: A week after a similar incident in the southern city of Malmo, Members of a Danish far-right group burned a copy of the Quran in Sweden.
Leader of the Stram Kurs (Hard Line) group posted a video which showed a man burning the Muslim holy book in the Rinkeby neighbourhood. Rinkeby, the capital Stockholm, has a large Muslim and migrant population.
According to Al-Jazeera, Rasmus Paludan, known for Islamophobic stunts, wrote on Facebook: “A lot of criminals have said that we would never be able to do this. But we did it. Islam is an evil and primitive religion that has no place in Denmark, Sweden or any other civilised society.” He attracted media attention last year for burning a Quran wrapped in bacon. He was scheduled to speak at the Malmo event but was stopped from entering the country, and subsequently banned for two years. In June, Paludan was sentenced to three months in prison in Denmark over various violations of hate speech laws.
Earlier police had denied the group’s request for permission to burn the Quran in Rinkeby. The party is reportedly planning more demonstrations in five Stockholm suburbs on September 12.
Meanwhile, members of Sweden’s Muslim community held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss how to deal with the demonstrations this weekend. Mahmoud Khalfi, an imam, appealed to ignore the act and not react strongly.
Far-right activists had burned a copy of the Quran in Rosengard, in Malmo about a week ago. Followed by a protest by some 300 people in which at least 10 people were arrested and several police officers were injured.