On April 20 this year, the Chinese government took over potshots in Sweden, because they are alleged to have not “respected” Muslim faith, after riots broke out in the Scandinavian nation regarding the burning of a copy of the Koran by anti-immigration activist Rasmus Paludan.

In a statement, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Wenbin commented, “Freedom of expression can not be a reason to incite racial or cultural discrimination and tear society apart.”

“We hope that Sweden can seriously respect the religious beliefs of minority groups, including Muslims,” ​​he concluded.

“Freedom of expression can not be a reason to incite racial or cultural discrimination and tear society apart. We hope #Sweden can seriously respect the religious beliefs of minority groups, including Muslims “, said Chinese FM about the riots in Sweden over the burning of #Koranen pic.twitter.com/E3jRG57wQS

– Global Times (@globaltimesnews) April 20, 2022

Riots in Sweden

On April 14, 2022, an insane crowd ravaged the Swedish city of Linköping. In the middle of songs about “Allahu Akbar”, the masked men attacked police vehicles and set them on fire. According to the independent researcher Hugo Kamman, a total of 4 police officers were injured during the attack.

The next day, riots broke out in Örebro where a violent mob attacked the police and engaged in arson. According to a report published by Reuters, the insurgents threw stones, broke through police roadblocks and set four vehicles on fire. Violence was also reported in the Stockholm suburbs of Rinkeby and Navesta in Norrköping due to the planned burning of the Koran.

At the same time as the National Police Chief Anders Thornberg reacted to the violence, he said: “We live in a democratic society and one of the police’s most important tasks is to ensure that people can use their constitutionally protected rights to demonstrate and express their opinions … The police are not allowed to choose who has this right, but must always intervene in case of violation. “

More than 40 people were arrested after the clashes that followed between Muslim protesters and the police in Sweden. Eight people were arrested in Norrköping while 18 people were arrested in the neighboring town of Linköping where the protests arose for the first time.

Chinese hypocrisy and treatment of Uighur Muslims

Although China is one of them worst human rights violations on the planet, it has recently been fighting for the cause of “Islamophobia” (just like its ally Pakistan). Despite its gloomy track record, China’s repressive communist party denounces Sweden, where its citizens enjoy ultimate freedom to practice their faith.

In July last year, Chinese authorities arrested more than 170 Uighur Muslims for questioning after praying without permission during Eid-al-Adha (Qurban Heyt). The incident took place in the city of Aksu in the city of Aykol in the Autonomous Region of Xinjiang Uyghur (XUAR).

Radio Free Asia reported that the police did not storm into mosques to verify the age of those participating in religious prayers, but instead hired “neighborhood spies” to check if anyone was secretly praying in their homes. The spies were responsible for providing information on 10 households that fall within their jurisdiction.

Although XUAR is home to about 12 million Muslims, it is thought that about 1.8 million of them have been held in concentration camps since 2017. The Chinese authorities, often referred to as “professional centers”, claim to use such camps to prevent religious extremism in XUAR.

While China has faced criticism and worldwide condemnation of its brutal treatment of Uighur Muslims, China had aggressively denied the allegations, calling it a conspiracy against the communist-ruled nation.