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| Why are there frequent incidents of Quran burning in Sweden? |
In response to the incident of burning a copy of the Quran in front of the main mosque of the capital Stockholm on the day of Eid-ul-Adha last week in Sweden, the 'Quran Sanctification Day' is being celebrated in Pakistan today.
Sylvan Momika, the Iraqi-born man who burned the Koran, came to Sweden as an immigrant five years ago and told the American channel CNN that he has Swedish citizenship. These people of Iraqi origin claim to be atheists.
In his interview given to the media, he said that the teachings of the Qur'an are in conflict with the principles of democracy, justice, human rights, and women's rights in Western society, so they should be banned.
But he is not the first person to do this in Sweden. Before this incident in Sweden, there have been several incidents of burning the Quran.
In January this year, a copy of the Quran was set on fire in a protest by a radical right-wing group called 'Storm Curse'. The group is known as anti-immigration and anti-Islam and is led by a man named Rasmus Paludan.
Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Strom Kris party, burned the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. And the incident was widely protested.
Similarly, in the past in the year 2020, the holy book of Swedish Muslims was burnt.
As the Swedish Empire expanded after its existence, so did its religious ideas. Although Sweden initially had a large Catholic population, the country became a Lutheran Protestant country in the 16th century. After which, in 1665, Sweden outlawed the religion it had previously practiced, and it was at this time that Catholics and Muslims were seen as enemies of 'true Christianity'.
After the Second World War, Sweden experienced socio-economic development as well as a liberal spirit, and the country currently operates under secular laws.
Omar Mustafa, the president of the Swedish Islamic Association, says that there has been a big change in Sweden's attitude over time and now Islamophobia is increasing here, which is not only expressed on the Internet but also in the lives of Muslims living here.
After the recent Koran burning incident, give details of various hateful activities such as harassment of Muslim women on the streets of Sweden, damage to Muslim homes, and small-scale attacks on mosques.
Journalist Tasneem Khalil has been living in Sweden for a long time and is very familiar with Swedish society. He believes that politics is behind these events and that Sweden is mirroring the rise of far-right ideologies across Europe.
She points out that Sweden's current government is supported by a single major party, the Sweden Democrats, which won 20 percent of the vote in the last election. He won 72 seats in the 349-seat parliament. The Sweden Democrat Party was a far-right party in the past that once believed in Nazi ideology and, to an extent, is still racist and anti-immigration.
She says that 'as a result, hard-right parties that were once considered outside the mainstream have now emerged as major forces in the political arena.' Jessie talks about eliminating thought.
Tasneem Khalil explains that criticism of the problems of ethnic or religious minorities is strongly disliked by the majority of the Swedish population because they believe that these minorities come from war-torn countries and are weak.
"But freedom of expression guaranteed in Sweden's constitution is being used by far-right parties to break taboos and use their constitutional right to free speech to attack minorities."
"And that's why we see more and more incidents like the burning of the Quran," she says.
Remember that Muslims are not a large part of Sweden's population, but on the other hand, it is easy to provoke them on religious grounds, and the slightest provocation brings a reaction from the entire Muslim world and the far-right forces in Sweden. engaged in a systematic effort to change attitudes towards Muslims in the wider Swedish society.
A few researchers at the University of California have studied Islamophobia in France, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
Abdul Qadir Ng, a researcher associated with the group, claims that Sweden's attitude towards Muslims began to change in the early 1990s. A 2014 poll found that 35 percent of respondents believed Islam was a threat to the European way of life. Another survey in 2016 found that only 35 percent of Swedish Muslims have a negative view of Muslims, while 57 percent believe that immigrants to Sweden are a threat to Sweden's national security, a narrative that the radical right-wing Parties are using
Judy Safin writes in an article in the Berkeley Political Review thatLamophobia is on the rise not only in Sweden but all over the world. Especially the Muslims of countries like Syria and Iraq who have become victims of war crimes and financial crises in their own countries. 'Xenophobia' or the fear of foreigners has been linked to strong nationalistic attitudes in various countries. People are now refusing to help 'others' for fear of losing their cultural identity, livelihood, and even security. And it's no surprise that it's the same in Sweden.
Another aspect of changing attitudes towards refugees or immigrants is noted by Judy Safin in her article. Comparing Ukrainian citizens who immigrated to Ukraine after Russia imposed the war with those from Middle Eastern countries, he wrote that Swedish media and political leaders repeatedly pointed out that Ukrainian refugees are not refugees from Syria, they are refugees from Ukraine. They are Christians and they are white.
Therefore, he believes that hate crimes against non-Christians and ethnic minorities are on the rise in Europe.
But journalist Taslim Khalil believes that repeated attempts to burn the Koran or hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims have brought out another side of Swedish society. He argues that although wider Swedish society is not critical of minorities, there is, in his words, 'soft prejudice', that is, a view that not much is expected of members of disadvantaged groups. This is also a form of racism.
Iraqi-born Salwan Momika did not suddenly plan to burn the Koran, but he had asked the Swedish authorities for permission to demonstrate in front of the mosque a long time ago. When the police did not give permission, the matter went to court and the case continued for three months finally the court allowed it because the right to protest is a fundamental right according to the Swedish constitution.
After this incident, a great debate about the limits of freedom of expression started in Sweden. Swedish police say they have received new requests for protests from people who want to burn not only the Koran but also the Torah and the Bible.
Some liberal observers in Sweden also now think that such protests should be seen as acts of hate because they are targeting a specific ethnic group, which is prohibited under Swedish law.
On the other hand, many within Sweden say that criticism of religion, even if it is offensive to its adherents, should be allowed. He also says that pressure to bring back the blasphemy law in Sweden should be resisted. In secular Sweden, the law was repealed decades ago.
Analysts believe Sweden's hopes for NATO membership will suffer another blow after the Koran was burned in Stockholm for the second time in six months. And questions are also being raised about the time when this incident took place. Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership last year, abandoning their long-standing policy of military neutrality after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Membership requires the approval of all NATO member states, but Turkey and Hungary have so far not supported Sweden's application. Turkey's Erdogan government has repeatedly accused the Swedish government of harboring outlawed rebel groups, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, and other Turkish opposition groups. The Ankara government considers them a terrorist organization.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signaled on Monday that his country is not yet ready to approve Sweden's membership in NATO. Stockholm needs to do more to finish its 'homework', he says. He said that the 'heinous attack' on our holy book in Stockholm outraged us all. The desecration of the sentiments of two billion Muslims cannot be reconciled with any basic human value, thought, or expression. Freedom on one side.'