On April 20 this year, the Chinese government took potshots at Sweden, for allegedly not ‘respecting’ Muslim beliefs, after riots broke out in the Scandinavian nation over the burning of a copy of the Quran by anti-immigration activist Rasmus Paludan.
In a statement, the spokesperson of China’s Foreign Ministry Wang Wenbin remarked, “Freedom of speech cannot be a reason to incite racial or cultural discrimination & tear society apart.”
“We hope Sweden can earnestly respect the religious beliefs of minority groups including Muslims,” he had concluded.
“Freedom of speech cannot be a reason to incite racial or cultural discrimination & tear society apart. We hope #Sweden can earnestly respect the religious beliefs of minority groups including Muslims,” Chinese FM said on Sweden riots over the burning of #Koran pic.twitter.com/E3jRG57wQS
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) April 20, 2022
Riots in Sweden
On April 14, 2022, a frenzied mob went on a rampage in the Swedish town of Linköping. Amidst chants of ‘Allahu Akbar’, the masked men attacked police vehicles and set them ablaze. According to independent researcher Hugo Kamman, a total of 4 police officers were injured during the attack.
On the following day, riots broke out in the Swedish city of Örebro during which a violent mob attacked the police and engaged in arson attacks. As per a report published by Reuters, the rioters pelted stones, broke through police cordons and set 4 vehicles on fire. Violence was also reported in the Stockholm suburb of Rinkeby and Navesta in Norrköping over the scheduled Quran burning event.
While reacting to the violence, National Police Chief Anders Thornberg said, “We live in a democratic society and one of the most important tasks of the police is to ensure that people can use their constitutionally protected rights to demonstrate and express their opinions…The police do not get to choose who has this right, but must always intervene in case of violation.”
More than 40 people were arrested after the clashes that followed between Muslim protestors and the Police in Sweden. Eight people were arrested in Norrkoping whereas 18 people were detained in the neighbouring city of Linkoping where the protests emerged for the first time.
Chinese hypocrisy and treatment of Uyghur Muslims
Although China is one of the worst abusers of human rights on the planet, it has, of late, been championing the cause of ‘Islamaphobia’ (just like its ally Pakistan). Despite its dismal track record, the repressive Communist Party of China is patronising Sweden, where citizens enjoy utmost freedom to practice their Faith.
In July last year, the Chinese authorities detained more than 170 Uyghur Muslims for questioning after they offered prayers without permission during the occasion of Eid-al-Adha (Qurban Heyt). The incident took place in Aksu city in Aykol township in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
Radio Free Asia reported that the cops did not storm into mosques to verify the age of those attending religious prayers but instead employed ‘neighbourhood spies’ to check if someone secretly prayed at their residence. The spies were responsible for providing information about 10 households that fall within their jurisdiction.
Although XUAR is home to about 12 million Muslims, it is believed that about 1.8 million of them are held in detention camps since 2017. Often dubbed as ‘vocational centres’, the Chinese authorities claim to use such camps to prevent religious extremism in XUAR.
While China has been facing criticism and worldwide condemnation over its brutal treatment of the Uyghur Muslims, China had aggressively refuted the allegations and dubbed it as a conspiracy against the Communist-run-nation.
