蜜芽传媒

It should have been a peaceful public holiday weekend with many Swedes celebrating Easter or reflecting during Ramadan. Instead there was unprecedented levels of violence across the country. Cars were set on fire, police vans were looted and officers were attacked with stones leading to the arrests of more than 40 people.

The violence was sparked by a series of rallies organised by the Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan who said he had burned a copy of Islam's holy book and wanted to do so again.

Manne Gerell, Associate Professor of Criminology at Malmo University, tells Newsday that the protests played straight into Mr Paludan鈥檚 hands because he wanted to 鈥済et the immigrant and the Muslim community to be perceived as more violent and dangerous鈥�.

(Picture: Police vans are on fire during a counter-protest against a rally by the anti-immigration and anti-Islamic Stram Kurs (Hard Line) movement led by Danish-Swedish Rasmus Paludan and their intention to burn a Quran. Credit: KICKI NILSSON / TT NEWS AGENCY / AFP via Getty Images.)

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