Groups want Swedish constitution amended to ban mocking of Islam

Fifteen Muslim organisations are pushing the Swedish government to change its constitution to outlaw mocking of Islam and other religions.

The move to change Sweden’s constitution has become the latest challenge for Sweden’s multicultural society.

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The country, which is largely a secular society that values freedom of speech, is under enormous pressure to ban speech that was once protected, especially over fears that similar incidents could result in further rioting from Muslim youth.

On Aug. 29, in Malmö, Sweden, Islamic and anti-racist protesters rioted in response to far-right supporters burning the Quran.

According to reports in the Swedish press, the leader of the Danish far-right Stram Kurs party, Rasmus Paludan, who was barred from entering Sweden for two years, has been promoting anti-Islamic demonstrations in Stockholm and other Swedish cities in recent weeks.

“We don’t want it to be legal in Sweden to burn holy scriptures like the Qur’an or the Bible and at the same time it should be forbidden to mock various religions,” said Hussein Farah Warsame, who is a member of one of the 15 Muslim congregations lobbying for a change.

“We want a change in politics,” emphasized Abdulla Ali Abdi of the Tensta mosque.