On 29 August 2020, riots broke out in the
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
cities of
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
and
Ronneby.
After
Swedish police
The Swedish Police Authority ( sv, Polismyndigheten) is the national police force (''Polisen'') of the Kingdom of Sweden. The first modern police force in Sweden was established in the mid-19th century, and the police remained in effect under lo ...
prevented
Rasmus Paludan, a Danish politician, from entering the country,
far-right anti-immigration activists held protests and
burned the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
.
[ In response, a mob of 300 people gathered in counter-protest, burned tires, threw rocks and chunks of concrete at the police, and smashed bus shelters, and witnesses heard shouts of " Allāhu ʾakbar" and "]La ilaha ilallah
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
". A prominent Malmö imam
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...
responded "Those who are acting in this way have nothing to do with Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
."
Incidents in Malmö
On 26 August 2020, police in Malmö denied Rasmus Paludan, a Danish far-right politician and the leader of Denmark's Hard Line party, permission to hold a meeting named "Islamization in the Nordic countries". On 28 August, he was deported and banned from entering Sweden. Swedish police suspected he would break the law. His supporters nonetheless went ahead with the event, and burned a copy of the Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
in Rosengard, a predominantly immigrant neighborhood.[ In a separate event, Paludan's supporters kicked a copy of the Qur'an around Malmö's main square like a football,][ for which three people were arrested on suspicion of inciting hatred.
At around 7 PM, about 300 people gathered in Malmö's Amiralsgatan street, south of the ]Rosengård Centrum
Rosengård Centrum is a neighbourhood of Malmö, situated in the district of Öster, Malmö Municipality, Skåne County
Skåne County ( sv, Skåne län, link=no ), sometimes referred to as Scania County in English, is the most southern cou ...
Shopping Centre
A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre ( Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof.
The first known colle ...
for a demonstration against the Qur'an burning, which soon turned violent. Rioters threw chunks of concrete and stones at the police, smashed bus shelters, overturned lampposts, and burned objects. Antisemitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
chants were also raised in the gatherings. The riots continued till about 3 in the morning.
The police in Malmö received reinforcements from Gothenburg and police began using drones for aerial surveillance of the Rosengård district.
The unrest continued the following day, there were multiple incidents with arson in the Rosengård
Rosengård (literally "Rose Manor") was a city district ( sv, stadsdel) in the center of Malmö Municipality, Sweden. On 1 July 2013, it was merged with Husie, forming Öster. In 2012, Rosengård had a population of 23,563 of the municipality' ...
, Bellevuegården
Bellevuegården is a neighbourhood of Malmö, situated in the Borough of Hyllie, Malmö Municipality
Malmö Municipality ( sv, Malmö kommun), or City of Malmö (''Malmö stad''), is a Swedish municipality in Skåne County, the southernmost of ...
, Rådmansvången
Rådmansvången is a neighbourhood of Malmö, situated in the Borough of Centrum, Malmö Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that t ...
and Solbacken city districts. The Gullviskolan school was severely damaged by suspected arson. Three people were arrested with bottles containing flammable liquid suspected for preparing attacks on police or rescue services.
The riots gradually came to an end by 31 August after residents, police and religious leaders took to the streets to promote calm.
The rioters caused damage worth about a million crowns (about 100 thousand euro). Most of the costs were due to replacing and repairing street lights, traffic lights, bus shelters and cleaning up the area. This sum does not include costs for police actions.
Incidents in Ronneby
The riots spread to Ronneby the following day when about 20 persons were involved in public violence in Ronneby, where they set fire to tires, threw rocks at police, emergency services and buildings. A policeman was wounded when he was struck by a rock. Arriving police were at first outmatched and had to retreat and wait for reinforcements. Three people were arrested and six were detained, suspected of violent rioting. The rioters protested against the burning of a Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
in front of a community building which was used by the Arab culture association (Swedish: ''Arabiska kulturföreningen'') for Friday prayers. According to an eyewitness, the rioters attempted to set fire to a church in Ronneby but a bystander put out the fire with his jacket, whereupon the rioters attacked him and he was wounded. The riot got extensive exposure in social media.
Aftermath
About 15 people were arrested, and several police officers were injured. Most of the suspects of the Ronneby riots were men aged 18-30 and previously known to police for trading narcotics, vandalism and theft. All spokesmen interviewed by public service broadcaster SVT agreed that the rioters weren't "true Muslims". A prominent Malmö imam
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...
responded "Those who are acting in this way have nothing to do with Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
".
On 31 August, the police started investigating reports of antisemitic hate speech from the Muslim rioters.
In November 2020, prosecutors declared that burning the Qu'ran does not constitute hate speech against a minority and therefore halted the investigation.
Related events
On 29 August, clashes broke out at an anti-Islam rally Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, after a protester desecrated the Qur'an at the rally.
See also
*Quran desecration
Quran desecration is the treatment of the Quran, in its original Arabic form, in a way that might be considered disrespectful or insulting.
Respect for the Quran as a holy book, as in other faiths, is an important element of religious faith in ...
* List of riots in Sweden
* 2008 Malmö mosque riots
* 2022 Sweden riots
*Islam in Sweden
Islam in Sweden refers to the practice of Islam in Sweden, as well as historical ties between Sweden and the Islamic world. Viking contact with Islam dates back to the 7th–10th centuries, when the Vikings traded with Muslims during the Islam ...
*Immigration and crime
Immigration and crime refers to the relationship between criminal activity and immigrant communities. Research suggests that people tend to overestimate the relationship between immigration and criminality, and that the media tends to erroneously ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweden riots, 2020
2020 riots
2020s in Malmö
Counter-jihad
Events in Malmö
Race riots in Sweden
Religious riots
August 2020 events in Sweden
Quran-related controversies