Saudi Arabia, other Islamic countries condemn Swedish far-right group’s plan to burn copies of the Qur’an

This photograph taken on April 17, 2022 shows a burning car near Rosengard in Malmo, Sweden, during riots sparked by a far-right group to publicly burn copies of the Qur'an. (Johan Nilsson / TT NEWS AGENCY / AFP)
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Updated 19 April 2022
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Saudi Arabia, other Islamic countries condemn Swedish far-right group’s plan to burn copies of the Qur’an

  • Sweden rocked by violence after Rasmus Paludan and his Stram Kurs called for a mass book-burning 
  • Saudi foreign ministry accuses the far-right group of “incitement against Muslims,” calls for dialogue 

JEDDAH: Arab and Muslim countries have strongly condemned plans by Sweden’s notorious far-right group Stram Kurs to burn copies of the Qur’an, the holiest book in Islam, during the month of Ramadan.

Clashes broke out in Norrkoping, Linkoping, Rinkeby, Malmo, Orebro, and the capital Stockholm over the weekend as police tried to prevent the book-burning taking place.

Saudi Arabia condemned the group’s “deliberate” abuse of the Qur’an as an incitement against Muslims, calling instead for the promotion of a culture of dialogue, tolerance and religious coexistence.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s condemnation of the deliberate abuse of the Holy Qur’an, provocations and incitement against Muslims by some extremists in Sweden,” the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The Kingdom stressed the importance of renouncing hatred, extremism and exclusion, while also promoting efforts to prevent abuses against all religious groups and holy sites.

Stram Kurs’s plans were condemned by Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Malaysia and Qatar, among others. Objections were also lodged by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Muslim World League, and the Arab Parliament, the legislative body of the Arab League.

 

In a statement on Monday, Swedish police said 40 people had been injured, including 26 police officers, more than 20 vehicles had been damaged or destroyed, and 26 people had been arrested in the days of violence.

Danish-Swedish lawyer and far-right politician Rasmus Paludan, who founded Stram Kurs in 2017, had planned to attend the demonstration in Norrkoping on Sunday, but according to Swedish media he never arrived.




In this picture taken on Sept. 4, 2021, in Stockholm, Sweden, Danish-Swedish hate preaching politician Rasmus Paludan shows a copy of the Qur'an, which he later tore apart and put on fire. (Pelle T. Nilsson/Swedish Press Agency)

 


In a statement released by Stram Kurs late on Sunday, Paludan said the rally had been canceled because organizers felt the Swedish police were unable to “protect themselves and me.”

The controversy began on April 15 when Paludan shared a picture with his 4,700 Instagram followers of himself holding a book that appears to be burned at the corners. The caption reads: “Qur’an burning in Rinkeby.”

The following day, he appeared to call upon his social media followers to imitate his action with a post reading: “Time to burn the Qur’an.”




Counter-protesters throw stones at the police in Orebro, Sweden, on April 15, 2022, ahead of a demonstration planned by Danish anti-Muslim gang Stram Kurs. (Kicki Nilsson/ TT News Agency/via REUTERS)

Although still a fringe group in Scandinavian politics, Stram Kurs has gained traction in recent years, particularly in the wake of the 2015 European refugee crisis, when millions of people fleeing conflict and instability in the Middle East, Africa and Asia began arriving on European soil.

Stram Kurs and other groups on the far right routinely seek to stir up hostility against Muslims, economic migrants and refugees, even calling for the mass deportation of these groups in order to, in their words, preserve Sweden’s authentic ethnic identity.

Paludan, who intends to stand in Sweden’s legislative elections in September, is currently touring the country to secure support for his candidacy, often deliberately campaigning in areas with large Muslim communities.




Police officers chase rioters in in Orebro, Sweden, ahead of a demonstration planned by Danish anti-Muslim politician Rasmus Paludan and his Stram Kurs party on April 15, 2022. (Paul Wennerholm/ TT News Agency/via REUTERS)

This is not the first time Paludan has sought to provoke Muslims with calls to publicly burn the Qur’an. In November 2020, his website urged supporters in Paris to assemble at the Arc de Triomphe to “burn the Qur’an in preparation for the peaceful public assembly.”

That same month, Paludan also urged supporters to gather in the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek, where “the European patriots will burn the Qur’an in blatant contempt of the religion of Islam.”

For inciting hatred against the Muslim community on Stram Kurs’ social media accounts, Paludan was sentenced to a month in jail in 2020. The previous year, he was handed a suspended sentence for racism and faced 14 charges, including defamation and dangerous driving.

Paludan is also not the first public figure to incite hatred by attempting to burn copies of the Qur’an. In 2010, Terry Jones, a Florida pastor and founder of the nondenominational Dove World Outreach Center, vowed to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by burning the Islamic text.




Palestinian Muslims read the Qur'an in the Al-Omari mosque during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Gaza City on April 18, 2022. (Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto)

The planned burning drew worldwide condemnation, with even the Vatican and the UN urging Pastor Jones not to go ahead with it.

David Petraeus, then commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, warned the burning could be exploited by the Taliban and other extremist groups to garner support or promote acts of terrorism on Western soil.




Iranian students demonstrate in front of the Swedish embassy in Tehran, on April 18, 2022, to protest a Swedish far-right group's plan to burn the Muslim holy book. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

“It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems. Not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community,” Petraeus said at the time.

Then-president Barack Obama likewise warned, when asked about Pastor Jones’ plan on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” that the Qur’an burning “could increase the recruitment of individuals who would be willing to blow themselves up in US cities or European cities.”

Following the outcry, Pastor Jones did not go ahead with the mass burning on the 9/11 anniversary.

It remains to be seen whether similar condemnation will dissuade Paludan and Stram Kurs supporters from going ahead with their own burning.


Hooting not shooting across the India-Pakistan frontier

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Hooting not shooting across the India-Pakistan frontier

“There is obviously no interaction with the enemy,” an Indian officer told AFP
Troops along the LoC began exchanging nightly gunfire two days after the attack, rattling off shots into the dark without causing casualties


INDIA: Sometimes the only outsiders that Indian troops posted along the contested frontier in Kashmir see are Pakistani soldiers eyeballing them across the remote valley high in the rugged Himalayan mountains.

Contact between them extends to what Indian soldiers posted to the fortified concrete bunkers call “hooting” — an occasional taunting shout or whistle echoing across the divide, which can be as little as 30 meters (100 feet) at its narrowest point.

That’s close enough to hurl a hand grenade or, perhaps more hopefully for the arch-rivals who share a sporting passion, a well-thrown cricket ball.

“There is obviously no interaction with the enemy,” an Indian officer deployed along the de facto border, dubbed the Line of Control (LoC), told AFP in a visit to positions organized by the army.

Troops on each side are settling back down to an uneasy standoff a month after the deadly April 22 attack on tourists in Kashmir sent relations spiralling toward a war between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.

New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing the Islamist militants it said were behind the killing of 26 men in the deadliest attack on civilians in Muslim-majority Kashmir in decades.

Pakistan denies the charge.

Troops along the LoC began exchanging nightly gunfire two days after the attack, rattling off shots into the dark without causing casualties.

India then launched strikes deep into Pakistan’s territory on May 7, triggering four days of intense drone, missile, aerial combat and artillery exchanges.

More than 70 people were killed on both sides, the worst conflict since 1999, before a ceasefire
was agreed on May 10.

It is still holding and the LoC is again quiet.

Diplomatically, New Delhi and Islamabad seem back to an uneasy peace, trading long-standing accusations that the other supports militant groups operating in their territory.

Islamabad blamed India on Wednesday for a bomb attack on a school bus that killed six people, which New Delhi called a “baseless” allegation and said it was “second nature for Pakistan to blame India for all its internal issues.”

India expelled a Pakistani diplomat on Wednesday, the second since the ceasefire deal.

Soldiers from either side eye each other warily across the razor’s edge of the LoC that slices through the territory, home to some 17 million people and which each side claims in full.

The Indian officer pointed to a green ridge where he said Indian and Pakistani posts were about 30-40 meters apart.

“There are many such places across the frontline,” he said.

“Our soldiers can see and hear the other side at such posts,” said the officer, who could not be identified because he did not have official clearance to speak to the media.

“There is even hooting at times, but no conversations.”

When the hooting does happen, it is sometimes to taunt the other during rare cricket matches between the rival nations.

For the Indian forces, the Pakistani soldiers can be the only other humans they see outside their unit for weeks when snow cuts them off in the winter months.

The border camp had multiple well-insulated bunkers, artillery pieces covered in camouflage tarpaulins and there were several radar and air defense systems on the hills.

The 770-kilometer (478-mile) LoC — the route of a ceasefire line dating back to 1949 — snakes down from icy high-altitude outposts to greener foothills in the south.

A senior officer in charge of multiple artillery pieces said that, for many of the men, the four days of heavy barrages had been their “first experience” of such conflict.

“It was really intense,” he said, adding that “at least 100 to 150 artillery shells fell around here.”

Outposts dot the picturesque but hard-to-reach terrain of snow-clad peaks, dense forests, icy
streams and ridges.

A small, seemingly tranquil village in Pakistani-run Kashmir surrounded by green hills was visible across the valley.

“We’ve been preparing for years — and were ready,” the artillery officer said, adding that none
of his men were wounded or killed and that they “gave a befitting reply to the enemy.”

Indian army officers at another frontier post pointed to a damaged Pakistani post they’d targeted.

Another officer showed the long rolls of concertina razor wire along their side of the frontier, a formidable barrier to protect their mountain-top outposts.

“Who holds the higher position in the Himalayas is critical in any conflict,” he said.

Russia says it captures a village in Ukraine’s Donetsk region

Updated 8 min 39 sec ago
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Russia says it captures a village in Ukraine’s Donetsk region

  • Air defenses had shot down 317 Ukrainian drones over the territory of Russia

MOSCOW: Russian forces have captured the settlement of Nova Poltavka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, the Russian defense ministry said on Thursday.

Russian news agencies, citing the defense ministry, separately reported that air defenses had shot down 317 Ukrainian drones over the territory of Russia in the past 24 hours and 485 drones in total since the evening of May 20.


China and Philippines trade blame over South China Sea confrontation

Updated 12 min 13 sec ago
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China and Philippines trade blame over South China Sea confrontation

  • Chinese Coast Guard fire water cannons and sideswipe a Filipino vessel as it conducted marine research around a disputed South China Sea reef

MANILA/BEIJING: China and the Philippines traded accusations on Thursday following a confrontation between two of their vessels in contested waters of the South China Sea, the latest incident in a long-running maritime standoff in the strategic waterway.
The Philippines’ fisheries bureau said the lives of a civilian crew were put at risk when the Chinese Coast Guard fired water cannons and sideswiped a vessel as it conducted marine research around a disputed South China Sea reef.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources condemned what it said was the “aggressive interference” of the Chinese Coast Guard against the Datu Sanday and a second ship in Wednesday’s incident, saying its vessels had not previously been subjected to water cannons in the area.
The Chinese Coast Guard said two Philippine vessels had illegally entered waters near Subi Reef and Sandy Cay and organized personnel to land on Sandy Cay.

 


The Coast Guard responded with what it described as professional and lawful control measures and went ashore to verify and handle the situation, it said in a statement.
A collision occurred after one of the Philippine vessels ignored multiple warnings and approached a Chinese vessel dangerously, the Coast Guard said, placing full responsibility for the incident on the Philippine side. The Chinese statement did not mention any use of water cannons. The US ambassador to Manila, MaryKay Carlson described China’s actions as aggressive and, in a post on X, said they “recklessly endangered lives and threaten regional stability.”
Sandy Cay is close to Thitu Island, the largest and most strategically important of the nine features the Philippines occupies in the Spratly archipelago, where China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have a presence.
Last month, China said its Coast Guard had landed on Sandy Cay as part of operations to exercise its sovereignty. The Philippines has denied Beijing has seized control of the disputed reef.
China claims sovereignty over nearly all the South China Sea, including areas claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
A 2016 ruling by an international arbitral tribunal found Beijing’s sweeping claims had no basis under international law, a decision China rejects.

 


Thai ex-PM Yingluck ordered to pay $305 million in damages over rice scheme

Updated 52 min 43 sec ago
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Thai ex-PM Yingluck ordered to pay $305 million in damages over rice scheme

  • Yingluck is one of four members of the billionaire Shinawatra family to have served as prime minister
  • She has been living overseas to avoid jail for failing to prevent corruption in the rice scheme

BANGKOK: A Thai court on Thursday ordered self-exiled former premier Yingluck Shinawatra to pay 10 billion baht ($305 million) in damages over a botched rice pledging scheme that saw her sentenced in 2017 to five years in prison for negligence. Yingluck, one of four members of the billionaire Shinawatra family to have served as prime minister, has been living overseas to avoid jail for failing to prevent corruption in the rice scheme, which paid farmers up to 50 percent above market prices and caused massive losses to the state.
The program, a flagship policy of her populist Pheu Thai party, cost the state billions of dollars and led to millions of tons of rice going unsold. Thailand is the world’s second-largest rice exporter.
Thursday’s ruling was on Yingluck’s appeal against a previous order to pay 35 billion baht ($1.07 billion) in damages to the finance ministry.
“The accused performed duties with gross negligence that caused damage to the state and therefore must pay compensation,” the Supreme Administrative Court said, adding the previous order exceeded the legal threshold of her responsibility and was unlawful. Yingluck 57, came to power in 2011 after a landslide election victory and resigned just days before her government was ousted in a coup in 2014. She is the aunt of current Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and younger sister of former premier and political heavyweight Thaksin Shinawatra. Thursday’s verdict comes less than two years after her family’s Pheu Thai party returned to power after a decade in the political wilderness, coinciding with influential brother Thaksin coming home after 15 years in self-exile to avoid jail.
The Shinawatras have consistently denied wrongdoing and have long maintained they have been victims of political vendettas by powerful figures in the conservative establishment and royalist military.
Yingluck on Thursday said the order to pay 10 billion baht was excessive.
“Even if I repaid it my entire life, it would never be enough,” she said on social media. “I will continue to demand and fight for justice.”


North Korea’s second naval destroyer damaged in a failed launch attended by Kim Jong Un

Updated 22 May 2025
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North Korea’s second naval destroyer damaged in a failed launch attended by Kim Jong Un

  • Disclosure of the failed ship launch suggests that Kim Jong Un is serious about his naval advancement program
  • The damaged vessel was likely the same class as the country’s first destroyer unveiled last month

SEOUL: North Korea’s second naval destroyer was damaged in a failed launch this week, state media reported Thursday, sparking fury from leader Kim Jong Un, who wants bigger warships to deal with what he calls escalating US-led threats against his country.
It’s not common for North Korea to acknowledge military-related setbacks, but observers say the disclosure of the failed ship launch suggests that Kim is serious about his naval advancement program and confident of ultimately achieving that objective.
During a launching event at the northeastern port of Chongjin on Wednesday, the newly built 5,000-tonne-class destroyer became unbalanced and was punctured in its bottom sections after a transport cradle on the stern section slid off first and became stuck, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
KCNA didn’t provide details on what caused the problem, the severity of the damage or whether anyone was injured.
According to KCNA, Kim, who was present at the ceremony, blamed military officials, scientists and shipyard operators for a “serious accident and criminal act caused by absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism.” Kim called for a ruling Workers’ Party meeting slated for late June to address their “irresponsible errors.”
The destroyers are North Korea’s most advanced warships
“It’s a shameful thing. But the reason why North Korea disclosed the incident is it wants to show it’s speeding up the modernization of its navy forces and expresses its confidence that it can eventually build” a greater navy, said Moon Keun-sik, a navy expert who teaches at Seoul’s Hanyang University.
Moon suspected the incident likely happened because North Korean workers aren’t yet familiar with such a large warship and were rushed to put it in the water.
The damaged vessel was likely the same class as the country’s first destroyer unveiled last month, which experts assessed as North Korea’s largest and most advanced warship to date. Kim called the first vessel, named Choe Hyon – a famed Korean guerilla fighter during the Japanese colonial period – a significant asset for advancing his goal of expanding the military’s operational range and nuclear strike capabilities.
State media described that ship as designed to carry weapons systems including nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles. Kim said the ship was expected to enter active duty early next year and later supervised test-firings of missiles from the warship.
Satellite photos show the partially submerged destroyer
Lee Sung Joon, spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday that the damaged vessel was likely equipped with similar systems and remains toppled over in the sea. An Associated Press analysis of Planet Labs PBC images taken Thursday showed the ship partially submerged on its side with tarpaulins draped over the wreckage.
Earlier commercial satellite images indicated that the country was building its second destroyer at a shipyard in Chongjin.
Beyond Parallel, a website run by the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said the satellite imagery of Chongjin’s Hambuk shipyard on May 12 showed that a second vessel in the Choe Hyon-class of guided missile destroyers was under construction.
A report by the North Korea-focused 38 North website assessed last week that the destroyer in Chongjin was being prepared to be launched sideways from the quay, a method that has been rarely used in North Korea. The report said the previous destroyer launched at the western shipyard of Nampo, in contrast, used a floating dry dock.
South Korean officials and experts say the Choe Hyon destroyer was likely built with Russian assistance as the two countries’ military partnerships are booming. While North Korea’s naval forces are considered far inferior to those of its rivals, analysts say the destroyer with nuclear-capable missiles and an advanced radar system would still enhance the North’s offensive and defensive capabilities.
Kim has framed the arms buildup as a response to perceived threats from the United States and South Korea, which have been expanding joint military exercises in response to the North’s advancing nuclear program. He says the acquisition of a nuclear-powered submarine would be his next big step in strengthening the North Korean navy.
Hours after releasing the report on the damaged destroyer, North Korea test-fired multiple cruise missiles from an area about 300 kilometers (185 miles) south of Chongjin, according to South Korea’s military. The launches were a continuation of a streak of weapons-testing activities by North Korea in recent years. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launches were being analyzed by South Korean and US intelligence authorities.