{"id":13843,"date":"2023-10-13T15:41:08","date_gmt":"2023-10-13T15:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/sweden-convicts-man-over-2020-quran-burning-a-first-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2023-10-13T15:41:08","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T15:41:08","slug":"sweden-convicts-man-over-2020-quran-burning-a-first-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/sweden-convicts-man-over-2020-quran-burning-a-first-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweden convicts man over 2020 Qur\u2019an burning, a first | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nSTOCKHOLM:
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A Swedish court on Thursday convicted a man of inciting ethnic hatred with a 2020 Qur\u2019an burning, the first time the country\u2019s court system has tried the charge for desecrating Islam\u2019s holy book.<\/p>\n

The conviction comes after a wave of Qur\u2019an burnings earlier this year that stoked international outrage and made Sweden a \u201cprioritized target,\u201d prompting the country\u2019s intelligence agency to heighten its terror alert level.<\/p>\n

The Swedish government condemned the desecrations but repeatedly upheld the country\u2019s extensive freedom of expression laws.<\/p>\n

The Linkoping district court in central Sweden found the 27-year-old man guilty of \u201cagitation against an ethnic group,\u201d saying his action had \u201ctargetted Muslims and not Islam as a religion,\u201d and \u201ccan hardly be said to have encouraged an objective and responsible debate.\u201d<\/p>\n

In September 2020, the man had recorded a video clip outside the Linkoping cathedral showing a Qur\u2019an and bacon being burned on a barbecue, with a pejorative remark about the Prophet Muhammad written on a sign under the barbecue.<\/p>\n

The man published the video on social media platforms Twitter, now known as X, and YouTube, and placed the burnt Qur\u2019an and bacon outside the Linkoping mosque.<\/p>\n

The song \u201cRemove Kebab\u201d was used in the video, a song popular among far-right groups and which calls for the religious cleansing of Muslims.<\/p>\n

The court said \u201cthe music is strongly associated with the attack in Christchurch,\u201d New Zealand, in 2019 in which an Australian white supremacist killed 51 people at two mosques.<\/p>\n

Read More: Sweden police grant permit for protest entailing desecration of Holy Quran<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The man had denied any wrongdoing, arguing that his action was a criticism of Islam as a religion.
But the court rejected that argument.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe court finds that the chosen music to a film with such content can not be interpreted any other way than as a threat against Muslims with an allusion to their faith,\u201d the court wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n

Read More: Sweden police grant permit for protest entailing desecration of Holy Quran<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe film\u2019s content and the form of its publication are such that it is clear that the defendant\u2019s primary purpose could not have been other than to express threats and contempt,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n