Sweden Riots Sparked By Planned Quran Burnings End With Dozens Of Arrests

In Sweden, over 40 people were arrested after a violent clash between police and people upset at plans by a far-right group to burn Qurans.

Police say they fired warning shots at rioters in Norrkoping on Sunday, injuring three people.

Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan organized a series of rallies that sparked the violence.

Islam's holy book has already been burned and he wants to do so again.

Any damage or disrespect to the Quran is considered deeply offensive by Muslims, who see it as the word of God.

The Saudi government has condemned what is being described as "deliberate abuse of the holy Quran by some extremists in Sweden" and "provocation and incitement against Muslims".

After Sunday's clashes in Norrkoping, a city about 160km (99 miles) southwest of Stockholm, and nearby Linkoping, Sweden's national police chief said he had never seen such violent riots before.

Along with the western city of Orebro and the Stockholm suburb of Rinkeby, these two cities were also the scene of riots on Friday. A riot broke out in Malmo, a city in southern Sweden, on Saturday.

More than 20 vehicles were damaged or destroyed during the violence, police said Monday. 26 police officers and 14 members of the public suffered injuries.

According to them, around 200 people participated in the violence, which was allegedly organised by criminal gangs. Sapo, Sweden's security service, and police are already familiar with some of the individuals.

Violence erupted in Norrkoping on Sunday after Rasmus Paludan announced he would hold a rally there. Paludan never showed up in the city.

Earlier this week, Paludan, leader of Sweden's far-right anti-immigrant Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party, announced that he cancelled the rally after authorities "exhibited their incapacity to protect themselves and me".

A priest ringing the bells of a local church in protest overshadowed his words as he spoke into a megaphone in Jonkoping on Thursday.

It has been violent before in Sweden when protests against Stram Kurs' plans to burn the Quran. During clashes in Malmö in 2020, protesters set cars on fire and damaged shopfronts.

During the Danish elections in 2019, Paludan represented the Stram Kurs party, which received 1.8 % of the vote but was unable to gain a seat.

He was sentenced to a month in jail in Denmark in 2020 for a series of crimes, including racism.

Swedish elections are scheduled for September, but he has yet to collect the necessary number of signatures to secure his candidacy.

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