Riots in Sweden over the burning of the Quran by far-right activists continued overnight Saturday for the third day in a row in major cities across the country, with Muslims around the world condemning the desecration of the holy book.
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According to Swedish media reports, the rioters in Sweden hurled rocks at passers-by and firebombed vehicles. Some also shouted "allahu akbar" ("God is the greatest" in Arabic)
Danish right-wing party Stram Kur carried out the controversial burning, under police protection. The event was originally scheduled to take place in Landskrona but was moved to Malmo due to security concerns. The first riots erupted on Friday, even before the actual burning of the sacred text, which is believed to be spoken by God to the Prophet Muhammad.
Kim Hild, the spokeswoman for police in southern Sweden, said on Saturday that her officers would let the demonstration by the Stram Kurs take place because this was within their rights under Swedish law that guarantees free speech. The right of the protesters "to demonstrate and speak out weighs heavily and it takes an incredible amount for this to be ignored", Hild told Swedish media.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh heavily criticized the act on Sunday, saying, "The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the burning of the sacred word of God (the Quran) in the Swedish city of Linkoping by a Danish racist and extremist element that has occurred under the pretext of freedom of speech with the support of that country's police." He added that Sweden was duty-bound to take "immediate, strong and explicit" steps to counter the party, adding that "such insulting action is the blatant example of spreading hatred, runs counter to freedom of speech, and must be condemned by all who believe in co-existence and dialogue of religions."
