Jewish, Muslim communities in Sweden warn against rise of Islamophobia, anti-Semitism

By Dilara Karatas

ANKARA / STOCKHOLM (AA) – Jewish and Muslim communities in Sweden have warned against the rise of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in the country.

In a reference to book burnings in Nazi Germany, the Official Council of Swedish Jewish Communities and the AMANAH Muslim Jewish Partnership of Trust said in a joint statement on Wednesday ​​​​​​​that book burning often indicates the beginning of the normalization of hatred towards a group in society.

"Historically against Jews, now against Muslims," said the statement, warning that racists and extremists are once again "allowed to abuse democracy and Freedom of Speech in order to normalize hate against one of the religious minorities in Sweden, by burning Quran."

Drawing attention to the intensified attacks on Jewish and Muslim people in the country, they expressed concern.

"In a democratic society, every individual has the right to feel safe and appreciated. We hereby wish to express our support to the Swedish Muslim Community and clearly state that every action and sign of prejudice and hatred is unacceptable."

On Saturday, Swedish-Danish right-wing extremist Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Muslim holy book in a police-approved protest in the capital Stockholm.

A day later, Edwin Wagensveld, a far-right Dutch politician and leader of the Islamophobic group Pegida, tore out pages from the Quran in The Hague, the administrative capital of the Netherlands. Wagensveld's video on Twitter showed that he burned the torn-out pages of the holy book in a pan.