A Swedish comedian has been receiving death threats on social media after he made a joke about recent controversial protests that involved burning the Quran, wrote the local Nyheter Idag on Monday, July 10th. Although the object of mockery was the typical Swedish mentality, and not Islam or the act itself, the Muslim community’s reaction was volatile, reminiscent of the turmoil caused by the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy nearly two decades ago.
The comedian Fredrik Andersson posted the segment of his new show on Friday, during which he made fun of how law-abiding Swedes behave, even when preparing for a protest.
“Three new applications have been submitted to burn the Quran,” he said. “It’s so Swedish to call the police only to say ‘Hey, I am going to turn the world’s Muslim population against Sweden and stop its NATO application. Do you have time for me at 3 pm on Friday?’”
What seemed like an innocent joke directed at Swedes, however, quickly turned into a flood of abrasive comments from Muslims, many of whom thought that the subject of ridicule was the Muslim community and the Quran.
“You should be ashamed that you even stand there talking s**t about the religion of others,” one user wrote. “God is the greatest and He sees and hears the bad deeds of people,” wrote another, “but I am calm as long as hell is big enough that many and many can fit in.”
Some of the comments went even further, and with surprising bluntness: “May you be exposed to terrorist attacks.”
Naturally, some got the joke. “It’s not about the Quran burnings … but the Swedish establishment,” one user wrote, asking how do people “not realize the irony in what [Andersson] said?”
The comedian himself also jumped in by posting a selection of the attacks on Twitter, adding that “the reviews are in.”
Meanwhile in Kabul
Meanwhile, the Quran burnings are generating real-life consequences for Sweden’s relationship with the Muslim world. Even if the dispute concerning Sweden’s NATO membership has been resolved (Ankara gave Stockholm the green light, in exchange for the prospect of buying American F-16s), other issues between Sweden and Turkey remain problematic.
On Tuesday, July 11th, the Taliban government of Afghanistan announced that it’s halting all Swedish operations in the country because of the Quran controversy. “After insulting the Holy Quran and the Muslim faith in Sweden, the Islamic Emirate suspends Sweden’s activities in Afghanistan until they apologize to the Muslims for this heinous act,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stated on Twitter, urging other Islamic countries to “reconsider their interactions” with Stockholm as well.
The decision mainly affects the humanitarian work of the Swedish-Afghan Committee, which has over 8,000 employees in the country. Beyond that, it ultimately comes down to the question of freedom of speech and expression, just as it did when Charlie Hebdo was attacked back in 2015, and in countless other cases.
“We have a right to do things, but that does not mean that we as a nation are behind it or even think it’s appropriate,” Johan Forssell, the Swedish Minister for development, said in reaction to the Taliban’s announcement, calling it “reprehensible” for hindering important humanitarian work.
