STOCKHOLM: Swedish police on Sunday arrested two people and detained around 10 people after a violent riot broke out at a protest involving the burning of a copy of the Holy Quran, police said.

The protest was organised by Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika, whose protests — which have included public desecrations of the holy book — have sparked outrage across the Muslim world.

Sunday’s protest was held in a square in the southern city of Malmo, which has a large immigrant population, and according to public broadcaster SVT around 200 people had showed up to watch.

“Some onlookers have shown upset feelings, after the organiser burned writings,” police said. “The mood was at times heated,” it said, adding that a “violent riot” occurred at 1:45pm.

According to police, the event had ended after the organiser left but a group of people remained at the scene.

About 10 people were detained for disturbing the public order and another two were arrested, suspected of violent rioting. Local media reported that some onlookers threw rocks at Momika, and video from the scene showed some trying to break through the cordon before being stopped by police.

In another video a man could be seen trying to stop the police car that transported Momika from the location by getting in front of it.

Through a series of demonstrations, Momika has sparked anger directed at Sweden and diplomatic tensions between Sweden and several Middle Eastern countries. The Swedish government has condemned the desecrations of the Holy Quran while noting the country’s constitutionally protected freedom of speech and assembly laws.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2023