Rioting and clashes with police erupted in the city of Malmö, Sweden, the country's second biggest city, after far-right anti-Islam activists filmed themselves publicly burning the Quran, the Islamic holy book.
This is what sparked the unrest and riots happening right now in Malmo #Sweden.. #Stramkurs 🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/bil3CI02s1
— Simulation Warlord🇺🇸 (@zerosum24) August 28, 2020
At the weekend, it is thought that around 300 youths, mostly of immigrant descent, took to the streets to protest. As the protests continued, some cars were set alight and clashes with the police began. In video footage, a chant of Allah Akbar 'God is great' can be heard as protestors throw bricks and other objects at police. The largest fire is believed to have started in a parking garage where many vehicles were said to be ablaze.
During the rioting, a police spokesperson admitted that they had lost control of the situation. Rickard Lundqvist told SVT, a local news outlet:
"We have ongoing and violent riots right now that we have no control over."
The Koran burning had been carried out on Friday by members of Stram Kurs ("Hard Line"), a far-right Danish organisation. The burning of the Koran had taken place in Denmark but the original intention of the group was to carry out the act in Sweden. However, founder and leader of Stram Kurs, Rasmus Paludan, was turned away at the Swedish border and then banned from entering Sweden for a further two years on the basis that he was a threat to public order. Elsewhere in Malmö, other members of the group were arrested for carrying out their own Quran burning event.
🇸🇪🇸🇪⚡️🔥 #Suède #Malmö #riots pic.twitter.com/qacrL8unnk
— La Poutre d'Istanbul (@martopirlo1) August 28, 2020
BREAKING: HUGE riots are taking place in Malmö, Sweden after the Danish far-right group "Stram kurs" burned the Quran (@Faytuks) pic.twitter.com/HuhIKwXz8P
— SV News 🚨 (@SVNewsAlerts) August 28, 2020
Quran burning in #rosengård #malmö #sweden escalated. @ISCResearch pic.twitter.com/0fsfKmVYwf
— Dissenting Idea Dispenser 🏳️🌈🇸🇪 (@zyQAs0Xfl40taD) August 28, 2020
@TheInsiderPaper #BREAKING
— 🌎 Sarwar 🌐 (@ferozwala) August 28, 2020
Violent Riots break out at Malmö, Sweden after a group named 'Stram kurs' burned the Holy #Quran.#Rosengård #Malmo
توبہ استغفار pic.twitter.com/HNRAEoCDMD
In court, where the ban was put in place, it was judged that while Sweden constitutionally protects freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, Kurs poses a threat to public safety and order.
This is not the first time that Muslim youth have been involved in rioting in Malmö. In 2008, in what was thought to be the first of such incidents, hundreds of youths rioted after the closing of an Islamic cultural centre that housed a mosque. It was described at the time by the Malmö police as the worst riots they have ever encountered. Since 2008, there have been numerous social disturbances involving police and the immigrant community.
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