Burning the Quran in Sweden: How Should Muslims Respond?

By Arshad Alam, New Age Islam 20 April 2022 It Is A Definite Provocation But Should They Be Burning The Streets? Main Points: 1. Far right Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan is provoking Muslims again by burning the Quran. 2. Muslims have responded by burning the streets in some cities. 3. They should have adopted civic ways of protesting instead of burning property, thereby alienating the state and the common citizens. 4. They also need to ask some hard questions about their own religious and cultural assumptions. ----- Muslims in Sweden are protesting against an attempted burning and defilement of the Quran in various cities of the country. According to reports, a far-right party, Stram Kurs (The Hard Line) had proposed to burn the Quran at different places in Sweden. In one of the suburbs of Stockholm, they succeeded in putting the Quran on fire, but in others it was a no show. Certainly, this is a deliberate provocation, but shouldn’t Muslims have acted with more sagacity and restraint? Rioting in the streets, burning public property and injuring police gives a bad name to Muslims, who are already reeling with a very negative image of Islam. Rasmus Paludan has been appealing his prison sentence following a district court conviction last year of hate-speech, discrimination and racism (photo: News Øresund / Johan Wessman) ----- With the re-emergence of far-right in Europe, there are many individuals who want to capitalize on anti-Islam rhetoric. At times, it has gone beyond rhetoric and has targeted Muslim lives and properties in a spate of hate attacks. One such individual is Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the Hard Line party. A dual citizen of Denmark and Sweden, Paludan first’s brush with (in)fame was in 2017 when he produced anti-Islam YouTube videos. In one of his most provocative stunts, he wrapped the Quran in bacon and burnt in on Facebook and justified his act as a tribute to freedom of speech. But rather than a free speech absolutist, he easily crosses over as a Muslim hating racist. In one of his speeches, he stated, “the enemy is Islam and Muslims. The best thing would be if there is not a single Muslim left on this earth, then we would have reached our final goal”. It is one thing to criticize Islam as a set of ideas, but quite another to declare an entire community as the enemy. His speeches and actions, for which he has been jailed briefly from time to time, is a clear incitement to racist hatred against Muslims, rather than a proclamation of free speech. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also Read: Islamophobia In Europe: Quran Burning And Hijab Ban Become Political Tools For Winning Elections --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In a fundamental sense, the Swedish authorities have failed to evolve a clear strategy to tackle such issues. On the one hand, they gave permission to Paludan to hold his Quran burning rally; on the other, they are quite at a loss to understand the Muslim violence that ensued. A number of policemen have been injured in the Muslim arson; some authorities state that by far this was the most serious incident of arson which they have seen. It is baffling that the police cannot understand Muslim sentiments in relation to the Quran which is their holiest book. Burning it in the holy month of Ramzan would have serious repercussion and clearly such a permission shouldn’t have been given in the first place. The Swedish state seemed at first to flirt with this racist demagogue and that must have created an anti-state sentiment within Muslims. On the other hand, it is also true that the European tradition considers ‘freedom from religion’ an important value; something which is an anathema to most Muslims. But should Muslims have protested in such a fashion? After all, hasn’t God promised that He will save and protect His holy book? Then why should Muslims arrogate themselves the power of God? It is quite understandable that they are aggrieved but couldn’t the protests be organized without loss of property and inflicting injury on others? As minorities, Muslims must always try to be within the ambit of law. Certainly, they have a right to protest, but should that protest rile the state and other citizens or should they be designed in such a way that these forces become the ally of Muslims in their fight for dignity? Muslims in Sweden need to ask these questions of themselves urgently otherwise they are risking alienating the state as well as common citizens who are not right-wing supporters. Medieval religions, whether Christianity or Islam, have always burnt books. In the self-righteousness, they have destroyed knowledge systems throughout the world. It is only with modernity that good sense prevailed under immense pressure which was brought by a secular state and citizens who grew wary of religion and its associated violence. Unfortunately, Muslims seem to have escaped this secularizing gaze and ended up burning the Satanic Verses as a mark of protest. It was the first time in many centuries that a book was being burnt in public and Muslims were at the forefront of it. The way in which European history has evolved, books have become sacred objects. They associated the burning of the novel with a return of medieval horror and hence an association of Islam and medievalism was created in their minds. Muslims do get affronted over what they consider as sacred but have no regard for what others consider sacred. Till we get over this narcissism, we will keep fighting the perception that Muslims are intolerant and ethnocentric. Sweden has been rocked by days of violence triggered by far-right Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan/ Photo: DW Made for Minds ---- Living in diverse societies demand that one lives by rules which not just maintain but enhance pluralism. Unfortunately, a Muslim credo which demands solidarity only with Muslims but expects others to always respect them is not a good example of shared co-existence. What is happening in Sweden has its echo all over Europe and Muslims will be the worst sufferers with the rise of right- wing politics. Paludan and Marine le Pen must be condemned for their actions but Muslims also need to ask deep questions about their religiosity and way of life. ---- A regular contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Arshad Alam is a writer and researcher on Islam and Muslims in South Asia. URL: https://newageislam.com/muslims-islamophobia/burning-quran-sweden-muslims/d/126826 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism