Far-right activists burned a Quran in the southern Swedish city of Malmo, sparking riots and unrest after more than 300 people gathered to protest, police said Saturday.
Rioters set fires and threw objects at police and rescue services Friday night, slightly injuring several police officers and leading to the detention of about 15 people.
The violence followed the burning Friday afternoon of a Quran, near a predominantly migrant neighborhood, that was carried out by far-right activists and filmed and posted online, according to the TT news agency.
Later, three people were arrested on suspicion of inciting hatred against an ethnic group after kicking the Muslim holy book.
The head of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations expressed “unequivocal condemnation of the burning of the Quran by far-right extremists … as despicable and totally unacceptable,” his spokeswoman said.
Miguel Moratinos called on religious leaders of all faiths to denounce all violence based on religious belief, spokeswoman Nihal Saad said, adding that “such deplorable acts perpetrated by hate-mongers … and other radical groups incite violence and tear apart the fabric of our communities” which are an affront to U.N. values and the alliance which works to strengthen inter-culutral and inter-religious dialogue.
(AP)
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2 Responses
muslims attack jews in malmo all the time.
Miguel Moratinos called on religious leaders of all faiths to denounce all violence based on religious belief,
And yet he is supporting exactly that. Burning a Koran is NOT violence. Rioting in response IS. It is every human being’s inalienable right to express his opinions, including by burning a book he finds disgusting. The US constitution protects this right, but it does not grant it — it declares that the right already exists, and is G-d-given, so it exists not just in the USA but everywhere. It’s just that in other countries the wicked laws don’t protect it, and in our country the just laws do.
The very fact that people riot in response proves how right it is to burn it. Doing so is a blow for religious freedom and the freedom of expression. So it’s not even the fact that even vile speech must be protected; this speech should be championed by all decent people (except decent Moslems, who can’t be expected to cheer but should merely stay quiet and tolerate it).