The smouldering remainder of a public riot in Sweden can be attributed to the burning of the Islamic holy book, the Quran, allegedly started by an Iraqi anti-Islam activist named Salwan Momika. The deliberate act of desecration, carried out on a peaceful Sunday, resulted in chaos, as vehicles went up in flames and clashes erupted between enraged protesters and the police force.
Authorities disclosed they had apprehended ten individuals in response to the public disturbances in the city of Malmo. Approximately a hundred people flocked to the scene reacting violently to the sacrilegious act, with multiple vehicles torched in the chaos.
Momika’s demeaning act occurred in Varnhemstorget, one of Malmo’s prominent squares. A repeat offender, Momika has previously participated in series of anti-Islam protests and caused substantial diplomatic furor throughout the Middle East.
The inflammatory act incensed onlookers, provoking a bunch of heated protesters to intervene in the incident. The situation escalated into a confrontation with the police force. According to the officers on duty, they were bombarded with stones and had electric scooters hurled at the police vehicles.
The tension was particularly acute in Malmo’s neighbourhood of Rosengard, recognized for its sizable immigrant community. Police cars were consumed by fire in the area that is no stranger to violent outbursts.
Malmo’s Police Area Commander Petra Stenkula voiced her concerns over the incident, stating, “It is extremely regrettable to once again see violence and vandalism at Rosengard. While I understand that such public gatherings can evoke powerful emotions, we cannot condone disturbances and violence of the magnitude we observed on Sunday afternoon.”
Scandinavia has borne witness to a series of Quran burnings throughout this year. In June, Momika repeated his egregious act outside Stockholm’s central mosque, coinciding with the commencement of Eid al-Adha, a cardinal festival for Muslims.
In relation to this event, police had controversially granted Momika a permit allowing the protest, citing Sweden’s stringent free-speech laws. It was subsequently discovered an investigation was underway on grounds of incitement of hatred.
Earlier in January, Rasmus Paludan, a member of the Danish far-right Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party, publicly burnt a Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
Across the sea, Denmark, also the setting for several Quran desecrations, announced its intention to prohibit public desecration of holy books. Sweden too, revealed its intention to examine the possibility of legally curtailing protests that involve the burning of texts, in certain contexts.
