Activists of radical anti-blasphemy party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan protest against the burning of the Koran in Sweden, in Karachi on January 27, 2023. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Swedish prosecutors on Wednesday (August 28, 2024) charged two men with inciting ethnic hatred over several protests involving the burning of Korans in 2023, which sparked widespread outrage in Muslim countries.

Salwan Momika, a Christian Iraqi who burned Korans at a slew of protests, and co-protester Salwan Najem were charged with “agitation against an ethnic group” on four occasions in the summer of 2023.

“Both men are prosecuted for having on these four occasions made statements and treated the Koran in a manner intended to express contempt for Muslims because of their faith,” senior prosecutor Anna Hankkio said in a statement.

According to the charge sheet, the duo desecrated the Koran, including burning it, while making derogatory remarks about Muslims – in one case outside a Stockholm Mosque.

“In my opinion, the men’s statements and actions fall under the provisions on agitation against an ethnic or national group and it is important that this matter is tried in court,” the prosecutor added.

Relations between Sweden and several Middle Eastern countries were strained by the pair’s protests.

Iraqi protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice in July 2023, starting fires within the compound on the second occasion.

In August last year, Sweden’s intelligence service Sapo raised its threat level to four on a scale of five after the Koran burnings had made the country a “prioritised target”.

The Swedish government condemned the desecrations while noting the country’s constitutionally protected freedom of speech and assembly laws.

Earlier this month, prosecutors charged Swedish-Danish right-wing activist Rasmus Paludan with the same crime over a 2022 protest in the southern city of Malmo, which also included burning the Koran.

In October 2023, a Swedish court convicted a man of inciting ethnic hatred with a 2020 Koran burning, the first time the country’s court system had tried the charge for desecrating Islam’s holy book.

Prosecutors have previously said that under Swedish law, the burning of a Koran can be seen as a critique of the book and the religion, and thus be protected under free speech.

However, depending on the context and statements made at the time, it can also be considered “agitation against an ethnic group.”

Dr Talat Jehan Khan, 52, was fatally stabbed at a picnic table outside her home in Conroe, Texas on Saturday. The paediatrician was killed by a 24-year-old man who came out of nowhere, reported Fox News. 

Dr Khan was stabbed by a man repeatedly at about 12.30 p.m. A witness told KHOU that the mother-of-two was sitting outside chatting on the phone with her dog when the man “came out of nowhere” and attacked her in front of neighbours and children. 

Matthew Amador told KPRC heard the sound of children screaming and he rushed outside with his sword and his phone. 

“The perpetrator was checking her pulse, which was really bad. I saw him checking her pulse, and then he stabbed her three times. Then as I yelled, ‘Hey,’ he turned around and looked at me then ran,” Amador said. “I’ve never seen evil like that in my life.”

According to police, the suspect, Miles Fridrich, fled on foot and was nabbed minutes later. 

“This is an immeasurable loss for our family, completely unexpected,” Khan’s niece Mahnoor Mangrio told KHOU.

“She’s a Muslim, strong in her faith, those are identifiable traits about her. She’s extremely loving, and kind. She was my aunt … the best aunt.”

The motive of the murder is not clear. The Council on American-Islamic Relations in Houston said in a statement it is “paying very close attention” to the probe.

“We are unsure at this moment if this was a hate crime, however, given the tragic circumstances, we are paying very close attention to the investigation,” the organization said in a statement. “We will continue to monitor the situation while we launch our own investigation and continue established dialogue with law enforcement.”

Fridrich, 24, was arrested on charges of first-degree murder.

Dr Khan leaves behind a 14-year-old daughter and a 23-year-old son.
 

A video has surfaced on the internet showing a hooded man in the UK attacking a Muslim woman in broad daylight in a suspected racist attack, Metro reported. A video of the incident that has gone viral shows the woman wearing hijab standing on a street in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, on Tuesday. Seconds later, a hooded man comes charging towards her and hurls a concrete slab at her head. Thankfully, the woman is able to move out of the way. She is then seen running away from the attacker towards two bystanders.

An X user shared the video and wrote, ”This is absolutely horrific – a hijab-wearing Muslim woman has had a paving slab thrown at her head by a white man in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.”

Watch the video here:

This is absolutely horrific – a hijab wearing Muslim woman has had a paving slab thrown at her head by a white man in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

Violent Islamophobia is on the increase. pic.twitter.com/AqjNBRIqiI

— Waqas Tufail (@_WaqasTufail) October 25, 2023

Her husband Eid Karimi told The Independent, ”I went inside to get food and she chose to wait outside in the rain because she had an umbrella. Suddenly I saw people running around and this guy. He tried to run but I ran after him and grabbed him. He was shouting ‘Don’t call the police, I won’t do it again. We were holding him down for the police to arrive. He knew he was in trouble.”

Though she didn’t suffer any injuries, she is ”shocked and stressed”, her husband added.

Many internet users were left shocked to see the video and hoped that the woman was okay.

One user wrote, ”Appalling. I hope that she’s okay.” Another wrote, ”This is awful. What a world when we don’t embrace our differences and learn from one another, instead such hatred from small-minded bigots and racists. I hope this lady is ok.”

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman refused to confirm if the attack was being treated as a hate crime. He said, ”We are aware of this video and can assure residents such incidents are treated extremely seriously. A man has been arrested in connection with the offence and enquiries are ongoing by Kirklees Police.”

Last week, London police said they had recorded a 1,353% increase in antisemitic offences this month compared to the same period last year, while Islamophobic offences were up 140% in the wake of the attack by Hamas on Israel.

An Indian-American man Jasmer Singh living in Queens, New York has died following an attack that followed moments after his car accident, as per the police, CBS News reported.

CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS.

The accident took place on Thursday while Jasmer was driving his wife home from a doctor’s appointment in preparation for a trip to India this coming week.

On the Van Wyck Expressway, Jasmer’s car bumped into another driver and that driver went on a rampage against him, according to CBS News.

On Sunday night, Jasmer’s family spoke with CBS New York, calling for hate crime charges against the suspect.

Jasmer’s son Multani while talking about his father, said, “He was educated, a very noble person, a simple person.”Singh, 68, came to the U.S. from India to raise his family.”

He was distinguished looking, with turban and all that,” Mr. Multani said. He further said, “My father’s skull was broken. Two front teeth were gone.”

Post the attack, Jasmer succumbed to his injuries. The incident has left his family traumatised.

According to investigators, the car’s driver has been caught and is now facing several charges, including manslaughter and assault, but not as a hate crime.

Mr. Multani said he is convinced his father’s appearance as a turbaned Sikh was the reason for the brutality, and wants his death to be charged as a hate crime, as per CBS News.

Mr. Multani said: “The guy was addressing my father with his costumes, with his turbans. There was no reason for someone to go in that intensity. My father was targeted and it is a possible hate crime.”

The mayor of New York City Eric Adams said, “Jasmer Singh loved his city and deserved so much more than his tragic death. On behalf of all New Yorkers, I want our Sikh community to know you have more than our condolences. You have our sacred vow that we reject the hatred that took this innocent life and we will protect you.”

Mr. Multani said, “Consider the safety of the Sikh community, please, so that nobody would lose their father, brother, or son like I did.”