Hawzah News Agency- A serious racist incident took place on Sunday afternoon in the vicinity of Stockholm Grand Mosque. A copy of the Holy Quran was found chained to the railing leading up to the mosque, bearing clear traces of six bullet holes.
Written in both Arabic and Swedish, the criminal behind the offensive act clearly wanted everyone to know his intention. He wanted it to be obvious. The discovery shocked worshippers and local residents, especially given that the community has been targeted before by far-right racists and Islamophobes.
Mosque representatives described the incident as a direct attack on religious freedom and personal safety.
“This incident comes at a time when anti-Muslim provocations and hate crimes have been on the rise in Sweden, alongside an increasingly racist and polarised social climate,” said Mahmoud Al-Khalafi, Director of the Centre.
Swedish police have treated the act as a hate crime, while Muslim organisations have called for stronger protections and clearer political condemnation.
The attack does not stand in isolation. Over the past several years, Sweden has repeatedly become a stage for high profile acts of Quran desecration, often carried out under the protection of free speech laws. These actions have drawn international outrage and placed Muslim communities under increased pressure at home.
Sweden has also hosted well known Islamophobic personalities whose actions and rhetoric have normalised hostility toward Muslims.
Europe is not the only hotbed for anti-Islam protests. America has seen an alarming increase in Quran desecrations and attacks on the Muslim community.
Jake Lang, a Republican candidate for the US Senate, attempted to burn a copy of the Quran during an anti-Islam march in the Muslim-American hub of Dearborn, Michigan, back in November but failed to carry out the hateful act after local Muslims seized his copy.
The Quran is beloved by all Muslims and far-right activists target it for that reason, however, one common denominator that connects all these hate preachers is not just their hate of Islam – it is their love of Israel and likely support from pro-Israel actors that links them.
People are starting to wake up to this fact but not nearly fast enough. Instead, hatred and harassment of Muslims is growing alarmingly fast and the dangers to Muslim safety feel very real. That days of Muslims being harmed or even killed in the Middle East only are over. Now no matter where Muslims live, there is a very real possibility of attack.
Muslims in the West must remain vigilant. As the famous saying goes: “First they burn the book, then they burn the man''.
Source: 5 PILLARS
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