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.
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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.
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Also
Read: Islamophobia In Europe: Quran
Burning And Hijab Ban Become Political Tools For Winning Elections
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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
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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:
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