Swedish Opposition Calls for Parliament Committee Chairman's Resignation Over Prophet Muhammad Insults

Shafaq News/ The Swedish opposition demanded on Friday the resignation of Sweden Democrat Party Secretary Richard Jomshof after he posted insulting remarks about Prophet Muhammad on social media.

Jomshof's comments were in response to a call for "greater dialogue" from Tahir Akan, chair of the Swedish Muslim Association, regarding how to address activists burning the Quran, the holy book of Islam.

"I agree that we need a 'broader dialogue,'" Jomshof tweeted. "A dialogue about how we democratize the Muslim world. Or what not a dialogue about Islam, this antidemocratic, violence-promoting, and misogynistic religion/ideology, founded by the warlord, mass-murderer, slave trader, and bandit, Mohammed."

Magdalena Andersson, leader of the Social Democrats, the country's largest opposition party, stated, "Richard Jomshof should leave his position as chair of the foreign policy committee," emphasizing that his comments were engaging in a direct polemic with the Muslim world.

"Jomshof cannot remain in office, and he must resign," said Morgan Johansson, Social Democrats' foreign policy spokesperson.

Amid escalating tensions, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson expressed grave concern about potential consequences if protests continue to be organized, where copies of the Holy Quran are desecrated.

Speaking to the Swedish news agency "TT," Kristersson revealed that new requests had been submitted to the police for permission to organize such protests. He stressed that the police bear the responsibility of granting permission to demonstrators.

Recent days have witnessed Quran burnings in Sweden and Denmark, leading to widespread condemnation from Arab and Islamic communities. The next round of anti-Islam protests began in Sweden when an Iraqi-origin man, Salwan Momika, burned a copy of the Quran outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm. Later, a Danish Far-Right Group replicated the incident by burning the Iraqi flag.

Incidents also occurred near the Egyptian, Iranian, and Turkish embassies in Sweden and Denmark.

Following the events, Iraq withdrew its charge d'affaires in Stockholm, and Sweden temporarily relocated its seconded embassy staff and operations from Baghdad to Sweden for safety reasons.

Last week, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution addressing rising violence based on religion and abuse of religious symbols and holy books, condemning such acts as violations of international law.

The resolution promotes dialogue between religions and cultures and calls on the international community to tackle hate speech, which can fuel religious tensions and incite violence. It strongly denounces all forms of violence against individuals based on religion or belief and condemns acts directed against religious symbols, holy books, and sacred places that violate international law.

On July 12, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva condemned recent attacks on the Quran, despite some Western countries voting against the resolution. The Council's resolution called for condemning such attacks and labeling them "acts of religious hatred."

Danish and Swedish authorities expressed concern over the situation and condemned the burning of the Quran. Both countries have laws banning hate speech against ethnic, national, and religious groups and people based on sexual orientation. However, burning holy scriptures has not been classified as hate speech but is seen as acceptable criticism.