[eesmith]

Literally no one in the article is making that argument. It even says "People who are appalled by Paludan’s actions are nevertheless disturbed by the widespread violence in response to them."

They want it to be made illegal so the police can stop people from burning the Koran and other religious texts.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/sweden-riots-over-quran... says "police said at least 34 people were arrested in Linkoping and Norrkoping after about 150 demonstrators threw stones at officers and set vehicles ablaze." - they aren't being treated as victims.

[cato_the_elder]

> Literally no one in the article is making that argument.

I meant that as sarcasm (note the headline), but IMO, the article is clearly more sympathetic towards people who "set vehicles ablaze" than the guy who seems to have at worst burnt a book as an effigy.

> They want it to be made illegal so the police can stop people from burning the Koran and other religious texts.

I don't think that's a good idea at all. That's essentially just a form of a blasphemy law.

[eesmith]

I read the headline as following a similar construction as descriptions of how Gavrilo Princip triggered the First World War. Eg, from a DDG search I easily found:

] If you have an image in your head of a notorious assassin or terrorist, Gavrilo Princip is probably the last person on your mind. ... you'd be hard pressed to believe this poseur had any chance of setting the world's economic and political center on fire. - https://mida.org.il/2014/06/28/shots-started-first-world-war...

That doesn't mean Princip literally set the world on fire, nor is it sympathetic towards Princip nor Serbian nationalism.

> That's essentially just a form of a blasphemy law.

I concur. But it's not an effective counter-argument since those who want such a law will make exactly the same argument. "This is just a form of blasphemy law like Finland and Germany already have." (I don't know the specifics of those two countries, only that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law describes them as having blasphemy laws.)

[erddfre3423]

A blasphemy law will do nothing to stop the actual issue in Sweden, which is the failure of its migration policy and integration. Riots like this are just one symptom, massive gang-related gun violence is another. But nobody cares since it's mostly concentrated to poorer suburbs, just like in the US.

Eventually people will care though. As the share of marginalized population keeps growing, the issues will spread to new areas until even the richest are not safe. Maybe Sweden will be like South Africa, with gated communities and private security.

[eesmith]

FWIW, also mentioned in the article, quoting Swedish newspaper columnist Oisin Cantwell:

> “One of the reasons we’re seeing those riots is the government’s failed integration and immigration policies,” he argues. “The murder rate has gone up and the criminal gangs are killing each other. But I’m not sure that copying Denmark’s strict immigration policies is the right answer,” he adds, referring to the country’s relatively hard-line approach to accepting migrants.

[car_analogy]

> Literally no one in the article is making that argument.

No one, except the title: The Far-right Provocateur Burning the Koran and Setting Sweden on Fire

And the first sentence of the article body: A far-right extremist has managed to set Sweden ablaze

After that, I hit the paywall.

[eesmith]

"On fire" and "ablaze" have several meanings.

1) Paludan literally set copies of the Koran on fire.

2) Paludan's actions triggered consequences that, among other things, led to setting a school on fire and greater distruction. This does not mean that Paludan directly set the school on fire.

We know this because we can look how others use the same phrase, like how Gavrilo Princip set the world on fire [1] when he killed Ferdinand, even though the only thing he fired was was two shots from a gun, or when "a young Tunisian fruit vendor named Mohamad Bouazizi set himself and the Arab world on fire, igniting the Arab Spring across North Africa, the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. "[2]

3) "ablaze" can also mean "feeling or showing strong emotion, especially anger", quoting https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/ablaze . In this case, there are strong emotion both for and against the idea of a ban on burning religious texts.

BTW, you could use a text-mode browser or curl to get around the paywall - that's what I did.

[1] "Setting the World on Fire: The Start of World War I" - https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/educational-magazines/s...

[2] https://www.ozy.com/news-and-politics/the-spy-who-told-me-it...

[car_analogy]

You are correct. They did not technically lie. Just clever wordplay to tilt the blame on one party.

[eesmith]

If you've only read the first line or so then you've missed where part of the blame is placed on the Swedish government, making at least two parties.

[car_analogy]

I do appreciate the humor of blaming everyone but the people actually setting cars on fire.

[eesmith]

It's still not the same as implying the rioters are 'just victims of his "hate crime".'

1) nothing argues that the people rioting are victims

We can look at the US where it's illegal to force a child in public school to stand and pledge allegiance to the flag. (Another free speech issue.)

Yet, some teachers still to this day punish, harass, bully, and even assault students who don't do so. (Eg, https://denver.cbslocal.com/2018/02/02/teacher-assaulting-st... )

Yet I've not heard people - even supporters of anti-flag-burning laws - argue that teachers should be seen as "just victims" of the act.

2) even if they are, we can see the quotes by Posner-Körösi "who heads the Jewish community in Sweden" as believing it's a hate crime, but that Jews would deal with it a different way:

> “I think it was wrong to allow this Danish-Swedish Nazi to demonstrate. Burning holy books like the Koran – or the Torah for that matter – is a hate crime.” ...

> Posner-Körösi, Sweden’s Jewish community leader, says that “if people were burning the Torah in the streets, the Jewish community would be very upset. But we wouldn’t deal with it in the same way as we’re seeing across Sweden now.”