Rasmus Palutan, the burned Koran and Islamophobia … three things about the violent riots that are rocking the country

A series of violent riots almost passed under the radar. For almost a week, the Sweden Is the theater of Violent conflicts Between law enforcement and rebels. The reason? The arrival of a controversial figure in the country, far-right leader Rasmus Balutan. The Danish-Swedish desire to “burn the Koran” in Muslim neighborhoods angered some members of the public. 20 minutes Takes the violence that has emerged from the far-right struggles in Sweden

Why the violent riots in Sweden?

Since last Thursday 14th April, two cities in the southwest, Narkoping and Linkoping Stockholm, Scene of clashes between police and rioters every night. Swedish police announced on Monday that 26 people had been arrested on suspicion of involvement. Forty people were injured, including 26 police officers and 14 civilians. Swedish police say about twenty vehicles were burned or damaged, which they consider to be the main target of what they described as “violent riots”.

The reason? Demonstrators protested against the so-called “hard line” anti-immigration and anti-Islam group gathering. [«Stram Kurs »]Led by Danish-Swedish With the Rasmus ball. The latter planned to launch a “tour” in Sweden on Thursday, targeting areas with large Muslim populations to burn the Koran.

Who is with the rising Rasmus ball of the far right?

Very little is known about Rasmus Pluton. But he got fame Web light, He launched his YouTube channel “The Voice of Freedom”, whose videos have been viewed more than 25 million times. He made himself more noticeable after he was burned on YouTube Quran Surrounded by pork in 2019 because, according to him, the text “spreads policies that do not conform to Danish values”. Last year, the 40-year-old, who defined himself as “Denmark’s most threatened man”, reiterated by releasing a photo linking immigration and crime, which would detain him for a month. Facebook.

The Danish lawyer, who normalized Danish in 2020 and often wore bulletproof vests, is almost unknown in France. There is more File S According to our colleagues, stay is prohibited Release. On November 11, 2020, Rasmus Balutan was actually arrested in Paris while attempting to burn a Koran near the Arc de Triomphe in memory of the ceasefire.

Do we see an increase in Islamophobia in Sweden?

Sweden, a rich Scandinavian country of 10.3 million people, welcomed more than 400,000 immigrants between 2010 and 2019, according to office figures. Displacements. But many experts point out that the country has struggled to integrate many of these newcomers, thousands of whom have failed to learn Swedish and are looking for work in the highly skilled job market. Since then the far right has strengthened and emerged as the third largest political party in the country

LMFAO failed because it failed to set fire to the Quran with the Rasmus ball for 2 minutes pic.twitter.com/IXKao1VtNM

– Hugo the Deer (hugothemaan) April 15, 2022

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In this case, in Denmark, Belgium, In France and apparently in Sweden, Rasmus Balutan has multiplied plans to burn copies of the Koran in recent years, especially in areas with large numbers of immigrants and Muslims. Also, in Sweden, he attracts extreme right-wing followers and collects the 20,000 signatures needed to run in the 2019 legislative elections with his party. In June of the same year, he received 1.8% of the vote, “almost missed his entry that required 2% of the vote to sit in parliament”, let it be known. Point.

But more than this ambient islamophobic climate, if there is a riot in Sweden today it is because the tour of Rasmus Balutan was not banned by the authorities. In fact, the police, despite being burned, claimed that these “tours” came under freedom of expression, a constitutional right.

The administration of this anti-Islamic tour has drawn condemnation from many Muslim countries. After Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Turkish diplomacy condemned the “reluctance to prevent provocative and Islamophobic acts (…) in the guise of freedom of expression”, while a demonstration took place in front of the embassy in Iran from Sweden.