Swedish police are hunting for members of an anti-Islam group from Denmark who are alleged to have burned a copy of the Qur’an in Stockholm’s no-go Rinkeby suburb.
Swedish police say they are searching for a blue Skoda car registered in Denmark in connection to the burning of a copy of the Qur’an on Thursday, saying an investigation into incitement to racial hatred has been launched.
The incident is thought to be connected to controversial anti-Islam campaigner and lawyer Rasmus Paludan who has planned several demonstrations across Stockholm this weekend, newspaper Aftonbladet reports.
Towe Hägg, press spokesman at the Stockholm Police, spoke to the newspaper about the upcoming demonstrations, saying: “They have not been given permission or rejection, the issue is still being prepared.”
Video of the Qur’an burning was posted on YouTube on Thursday and has garnered over 60,000 views, showing a man setting the Islamic holy book ablaze in the central shopping area of Rinkeby. The man in the video states: “I am from Stram Kurs, and we are here in Rinkeby.”
Stram Kurs (Hard Line) is the name of the anti-Islam group headed by Paludan and has been behind several controversial demonstrations in Denmark, some of which have led to riots and violence.
Last weekend, Stram Kurs members burned copies of the Qur’an in the multicultural southern Swedish city of Malmö, which also led to rioting and attacks on local police by angry Muslims. At least 14 people were arrested, including a woman in her sixties.
Following the Malmö riots, Paludan was given a two-year ban on entering Sweden but has stated that he will be going to Sweden this weekend, as he has claimed he is a Swedish citizen.
Rinkeby has become notorious for rioting and crime in the last several years, with police stating in 2019 that criminals in the area “laugh” at Swedish laws.
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