Public burning of Koran tests Sweden’s stance on freedom of expression
By France24
24 July 2022 |
4:08 pm
The run-up to Sweden’s general election this autumn has seen the leader of a right-wing extremist party tour the country, burning copies of the Koran. Rasmus Paludan's actions have caused widespread riots across the country and calls for the burning of Islam's holy book to be banned in Sweden. But former asylum seekers from the Muslim world are among the voices trying to resist any change in Sweden's freedom of expression laws.
In this article
Related
4 Feb
Japan's ageing society is forcing it to innovate in some unusual ways. Fifteen years ago, the western town of Hōki, where almost half the residents are aged over 65, started using recycled adult diapers to heat public baths and reduce energy bills. The project was highly successful and now the idea of turning diapers into fuel pellets has spread to other parts of Japan. Our correspondents report.
8 Feb
Swedish price comparison firm PriceRunner accused Google of "abusing the market" by promoting its own shopping comparisons in search results despite a 2017 EU ruling.
13 Feb
A video doing the rounds on social media shows a boy being arrested in a brutal manner by police in Sweden. The video has been circulated with another explanation for the events by those claiming Swedish authorities are separating refugee children from their parents. We sort the facts from the fiction.
6 Mar
Sweden and Finland have stayed outside of NATO due to their military nonalignment policy. That's been supported in the past by majorities of both Finns and Swedes. But the war in Ukraine has changed that.
2 Apr
As a recent poll shows that six in 10 Swedish people support joining NATO alongside neighbour Finland, leading Swedish MEP Tomas Tobé tells FRANCE 24 why he backs ending two centuries of military neutrality in Sweden. "It is clear that Sweden needs to build security together with others.
16 Apr
We take a look at a new season of art and exhibitions as Stockholm's "Youseum" offers influencers and selfie enthusiasts a temple for the 21st century's favourite form of self-expression. Meanwhile, a museum in the French city of Rouen says "please do touch the art", as a new show encourages a sensory experience of sculptures on show. Plus, visitors to the Quai Branly in Paris get a chance to plunge themselves into Bamiléké society, with traditional ritual objects and artefacts on display thanks to a Franco-Cameroonian partnership.
30 Apr
The Greek government condemns Vladimir Putin's attack on Ukraine — but the Greek people are divided where Moscow is concerned. Leftists revel in Soviet nostalgia, while conservatives embrace the shared Orthodox faith.
15 May
The hard-line Islamist group has told Afghan women to cover their faces in public — the latest backslide on promises to retain women's rights after the Taliban seized power last August.
13 May
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK would "provide support" if Sweden were to be attacked. The agreement comes as Sweden and Finland are set to decide whether to join NATO.
13 May
The phrase rest in peace can not be used for commoners in this part of the world because they had to go through hard times even while alive. A look at graveyards across the country shows if the souls are resting in peace indeed.
15 May
Europe's annual song and dance extravaganza wasn't short on either entertainment or pyrotechnics, but voting remained nail-biting until the end.
22 May
Sweden's government has decided to reverse decades of security policy and formally join NATO. Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced the step. Finland's parliament votes on the same plan later.
Latest
1 day ago
Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday.
1 day ago
Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga rejected as "null and void" the result of an Aug. 9 presidential election he was declared to have lost, adding on Tuesday that Kenya's democracy faces a long legal crisis.
1 day ago
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel and his Tottenham Hotspur counterpart Antonio Conte have been charged by the Football Association (FA) following their confrontation after Sunday's heated Premier League draw at Stamford Bridge.
1 day ago
As they begin to grasp the extent of looming energy price hikes, people across Germany are cutting consumption. The same goes for city governments, such as Cologne's.
1 day ago
Kenya's election commissioners stand by their disavowal of the presidential vote. The dramatic events of Monday have raised fears of violence like that seen after past disputed polls. In 2017, more than 100 people were killed after the Supreme Court overturned the result citing anomalies in the voting process.
1 day ago
The first humanitarian cargo of food from Ukraine since Russia's invasion has set off from Ukraine. Meanwhile, the location of the first commercial ship to leave carrying grain is unknown.