The series of violent riots almost went under the radar. For almost a week, Sweden has been the scene of violent clashes between police and rioters. The reason ? The arrival of a controversial figure in the country, far-right leader Rasmus Paludan. The Danish-Swede, who wants to “burn the Koran” in Muslim neighborhoods, has drawn the ire of some civilians. 20 Minutes takes stock of the violence emanating from far-right protests in Sweden
Why are there violent riots in Sweden?
Since Thursday April 14, Norrköping and Linköping, two cities southwest of Stockholm, have been the scene of clashes between police and rioters every night. Twenty-six people suspected of taking part have been arrested, Swedish police said on Monday. In addition, 40 people were injured, including 26 police officers and 14 civilians. Swedish police, who burned or damaged about twenty vehicles, believe they were the main target of what they called “violent riots”.
The reason ? Demonstrators protest against a gathering of the anti-immigration and anti-Islam group called “Hard Line” [«Stram Kurs »], led by Danish-Swedish Rasmus Paludan. The latter planned to launch a “tour” in Sweden on Thursday, targeting neighborhoods with large Muslim populations to burn the Koran there.
Who is Rasmus Paludan, the rising figure of the far right?
Very little is known about Rasmus Paludan. But his notoriety comes from YouTube, the platform on which he launched his YouTube channel The Voice of Freedom, whose videos have been viewed more than 25 million times. He has garnered more attention on Youtube after burning a bacon-covered Koran in 2019 because he says the text “propagates principles that are incompatible with Danish values.” Last year, the 40-year-old man, who defines himself as “Denmark’s most threatened man”, reiterated by posting a photo linking immigration and crime that will see him removed from Facebook for a month is blocked.
Rasmus Paludan. -Henning Bagger/AP/SIPA
The Danish lawyer, who was naturalized in Denmark in 2020 and often wears a bulletproof vest, is almost unknown in France. However, according to information from our colleagues at Liberation, he is on the S-File and has been banned from staying there. On November 11, 2020, Rasmus Paludan was indeed arrested in Paris when he was about to burn a Koran near the Arc de Triomphe on the occasion of the Armistice commemorations.
Are we witnessing a rise in Islamophobia in Sweden?
Sweden, a rich Scandinavian country of 10.3 million people, welcomed more than 400,000 immigrants between 2010 and 2019, according to statistics from the Migration Board. However, many experts note that the country is struggling to integrate many of these newcomers, as thousands fail to learn Swedish and find work in a highly skilled labor market. Since then, the extreme right has gained ground, becoming the country’s third-largest political party
Access to this content has been blocked to respect your choice of consent
I SUPPOSE
More information on the Cookie Management Policy page.
In this context, in recent years Rasmus Paludan has multiplied projects to burn copies of the Koran in Denmark, Belgium, France and of course Sweden, generally in neighborhoods with large immigrant and Muslim populations. And in Sweden he is attracting supporters of the extreme right and in 2019 manages to collect the 20,000 signatures needed to run with his party in the parliamentary elections. In June of the same year, he won 1.8% of the vote and “nearly missed getting into Parliament, where it took 2% of the vote to sit there,” reports Le Point.
But even more than this Islamophobic climate, if the uproar is like this in Sweden today, it’s actually because Rasmus Paludan’s tour wasn’t banned by the authorities. In fact, police claimed that despite the burning, these “rounds” fell under freedom of expression, a constitutional right that required them to issue permits for demonstrations.
The management of this anti-Islam tour has been condemned by several Muslim countries. After Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Turkish diplomacy lamented “the hesitation to prevent provocative and Islamophobic acts (…) under the guise of freedom of expression” while a demonstration stretching from Sweden to Iran took place in front of the embassy.