by Claudio Del Frate
Militants from immigrant communities attempted to break through police blockades. The clashes in Stockholm, Malmö and Norrköpping. The xenophobic leader calls for a ban on Islam
The cities of Sweden have been rocked by riots and clashes with the police for several days; Anger in the square exploded after a rightwing extremist announced a series of demonstrations and rallies at which he threatened to burn copies of the Koran. The Islamic communities in the various cities have rebelled, especially after the authorities said no to the cancellation of the Islamophobic rallies. The toll, after three days of rioting by a dozen injured police officers and three protesters who were hit (but their terms are not serious) by bullets fired by police to disperse the crowd. Eight others were arrested.
Rasmus Paludan, the Danish rightwing extremist at the head of the Stramkurs movement, literally a hard line, lit the fuse of the clashes. Paludan has announced a tour to some Swedish cities where immigrant communities are particularly large. The violent and racist tones of his propaganda had already aroused the resentment of Muslims (who were the target of Paludan’s abuse), but anger mounted after the extremist announced his intention to set the holy book of Islam on fire. Street violence erupted after police refused to cancel the controversial rallies: Swedish law, which is very permissive when it comes to freedom of expression, would not allow it.
The hottest clashes took place in Norrköpping, where several agents were injured as Muslim activists attempted to enforce some blockades; The officers were rockthrowing targets and responded with tear gas and pepper spray. The scene was repeated between Thursday and Saturday night on the outskirts of Stockholm in Malmö, where a bus was set on fire in the Rosengrad district, and finally in Linköping. In Norrköping, police spokesman Johnny Gustafsson confirmed that three demonstrators were slightly injured by police gunfire.
The permissive attitude of the authorities has meanwhile caused the Stockholm government some problems with Muslimmajority countries: The Iraqi Foreign Ministry summoned the Swedish chargé d’affaires in Baghdad today and explained that such an incident could have serious consequences. For his part, Paludan, known for the numerous antiIslamic videos posted on YouTube, founded Stram Kurs in 2017 but failed to clear the 2% threshold required to enter the Copenhagen Parliament in the 2019 elections. Paludan calls for a ban on Islam and the expulsion of all nonWestern asylum seekers from Denmark. The 40yearold, who also acquired Swedish citizenship in 2020, has repeatedly burned the Koran in the square as a tribute to freedom of expression.
April 17, 2022 (change April 17, 2022 | 20:13)
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