By Rumki Chowdhury
On Sunday, July 9th, 2023, thousands of demonstrators gathered in protest against the previous and most recent Quran burning incidents in Stockholm, Sweden. It all began at the central mosque in Medborgarplatsen, Stockholm, where Swedish Muslims, with their non-Muslim supportive brothers and sisters, walked side-by-side as they chorused words in the Swedish language (I will translate here): “Enough with the hate! Enough with the horror! Enough with the discrimination!”
Together, they even recited Quranic verses to show that the Quran will forever be within the Muslims’ hearts, physically burnt or not. Majority of Muslims have many Quranic verses memorized, which keep them completely in sync with one another, showing their perseverance despite the prejudice they experience on a daily basis, not just in Sweden, but also worldwide. Some held up signs, while others held up their personal copies of the Quran.
Mahmoud Khalfi, Imam and Director of Stockholm’s Central Mosque, said to Swedish media in Swedish (I translate here), “About 4000 people have gathered here today to show their solidarity and to show how one can react peacefully and democratically.” Together with the Islamic Association/Federation of Sweden, they arranged the proper paperwork and attained written permission from the police to hold this peaceful demonstration.
Those who are unfamiliar with or are in need of reminding as towards why Swedish Muslims felt this protest was necessary, it all began when Police gave permission to a far right Danish-Swedish politician, Rasmus Paludan, to hold a Quran burning demonstration. “Sweden believes in free speech” is the most common response roaring through Swedish media when the Police are confronted with the question as towards why they would allow anti-Quran protests to occur. Since then, there have been many debates across the nation about whether or not such an act can be considered free speech or hate speech (which is illegal in Sweden): (Swedish Penal Code 16 § 8) and unlawful discrimination (Swedish Penal Code 16 § 9) because the hate motive is embedded in the nature of the crimes. The hate crime legislation also applies on the internet. In other words, hate speech includes publicly making statements that threaten or disrespect a specific person or group of people based on their ethnicity, race, skin color, faith or sexual orientation.
Since Paludan had begun burning the Quran in 2020, he had been banned from entering Sweden again from Denmark. However, the ban was lifted when he was given Swedish citizenship through his father. Most recently, a 37-year-old Iraqi-Swede named, Salwan Momika, who was given permission by the Police to demonstrate against the Quran, burned a Quran outside of Stockholm’s largest and most central mosque. Now, he is being charged with hate speech and burning a Quran when campfires and barbecue/grill parties are banned in public spaces due to recent wildfires in Sweden.
Quran-burning incidents have severed ties between Sweden and Muslim nations such as Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Yemen. These Muslim nations have also held anti-Quran burning protests.
According to the Quran, Muslims believe in tolerating other religions and never disrespecting them because there is no compulsion in Islam. So Swedish Muslims are peacefully demanding, “Enough with the hate! Enough with the horror! Enough with the discrimination!”
About the Author:
Rumki Chowdhury is Editor of World Hijab Day Organization. Moreover, she is a professional editor and an award-winning published author and poet. She has an MA in English Literature from Queen Mary University of London, a BA in English Writing from William Paterson University of New Jersey and an English Subject Teaching Degree from Gävle Högskolan in Stockholm, Sweden. She speaks Bengali and Swedish fluently! She has years of experience in the media and publishing worlds. Rumki lives with her husband and their three daughters.
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