Sweden.. A man who burned the Qur’an was sentenced to put a “pork” on it

Almost two years after the incident, a Swedish court on Tuesday convicted a far-right activist on two counts of hate crime after he made obscene statements against Muslims while ‘ burning copies of the Qur’an.

This behavior started riots in the country in 2022.

Malmö District Court issued a 4-month prison sentence for Rasmus Paludan, a Danish-Swedish citizen and founder of a small political party, on charges of incitement against Muslims, according to Reuters.

Paludan had set fire to copies of the Qur’an several times in public places, as well as putting pigs on them at times, which caused anger among Muslims in Sweden and abroad.

Under Sweden’s freedom of expression law, burning religious texts is allowed in the country, but incitement against an ethnic or national group, such as insulting and insulting Muslims, violates the law.

Paludan was accused of making statements containing obscene words about Islam, Muslims, and demonstrators who rejected his actions.

“The court decided that (Paloudan) expressed in (public) gatherings his respect for Muslims, among others, and that his actions could not be justified as mere criticism on the Islamic religion or that they came in the context of a political campaign,” said the decision.

Paludan (42 years old), who was also convicted in Denmark on similar charges in 2020, denied the allegations against him. His lawyer said he would appeal the decision.

The Swedish government fears that the burning of copies of the Qur’an by Baloudan and others could provoke attacks by Islamic extremists, and is considering allowing the police to refuse any public gatherings if they threaten national security.

Last year, Denmark tightened laws to prevent burning copies of the Qur’an in public places.

Paludan’s political party failed to win any seats in the parliamentary elections, whether in Denmark or Sweden.