Violent riots have broken out in Sweden after plans by the country’s far-right to burn the Quran.
Over 40 people were arrested after clashes between the police and people outraged at plans to burn the Quran.
The violence was sparked by a series of rallies organised by the Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan after he claimed to have burned a copy of Islam’s holy book, and wanted to do so again.
In the violence, three people were injured in Norrkoping, on Sunday, after officers fired warning shots at rioters, police claimed.
The Quran is the sacred word of god in Islam, and any intentional damage or disrespect of it is considered incredibly offensive.
Paludan claimed he was going to hold a rally in Norrkoping, but never showed up in the city.
In a statement posted by his far-right, anti-immigrant party, Steam Kurs (Hard Line), he said he cancelled the rally because Swedish authorities had shown they were not capable of protecting themselves and him.
A few days earlier, when speaking in the city of Jonkoping, he had tried to talk into a megaphone but a priest ringing the bells of a local church in protest drowned him out.
Saudi Arabia condemned what it said was the “deliberate abuse of the holy Quran by some extremists in Sweden, and provocation and incitement against Muslims".
Iran and Iraq previously summoned their Swedish ambassadors to lodge protests about the incident.
Anders Thornberg, Sweden's national police chief, said he had never seen such violent riots following Sunday's clashes in Norrkoping, and nearby Linkoping.
Alongside clashes on Sunday, the two cities saw widespread riots on Friday, along with Stockholm suburb, Rinkeby, and Orebo, a western city.
Saturday saw rioting in the southern city of Malmo.
On Monday, police said 26 police officers and 14 members of the public had been injured in the violence.
And alongside that more than 20 vehicles had been damaged or destroyed.
Officers said around 200 people have been involved in the violence, and they said they believed it was organised by networks of criminal gangs.
Swedish police said: “These are not ordinary counter-protesters. These are also not representatives of the affected residential areas. The police have strong suspicions that there are links to criminal gangs.”
Some of the individuals involved were already known to the police and Sweden’s security service, Sapo.
This is not the first time protests against Stram Kurs plans to burn the Quran have turned violent.
In 2020, protestors set cars on fire and smashed up shop fronts in clashes in Malmo.
Paludan represented Stram Kurs in the last Danish elections in 2019 where it failed to win a single sea.
In 2020 he was jailed in Denmark for a month for a number of offences including racism.
He plans to stand in the Swedish elections this coming September but reportedly does not yet have the necessary number of signatures to secure his candidacy.
In a statement to Swedish outlet Aftonbladet , Prime Minister Magdelena Andersson said: “In recent days, we have seen terrible scenes in several of Sweden's cities.
“Police employees who were looking forward to a quiet Easter celebration with the family had to defend Swedish law and freedom of expression with life at stake.
“The indiscriminate violence was directed not only at the police, but at the democratic values of our entire society.
“Although it is a heinous message of hatred that Paludan stands for, it is unacceptable, unjustifiable and illegal to react with this serious violence.”
