It was surprising to see the pictures coming out of Malmo, Sweden this week. At first I thought the images were from Greece, but in fact similar rioting (though not nearly as serious) has also hit the Swedish city of Malmo after youths, who were squatting in a former Islamic center, clashed with police. The fighting took place on Wednesday and Thursday, and by Friday evening, calm was mostly restored. The local reports say that the unrest started "as a quiet protest linked to the recent closure of an Islamic cultural centre," which was also serving as a mosque. Five people have been arrested.
The closure of the center was simply the will of the owner of the building, who chose not to renew the center's lease and to use the premises for other purposes. Other reports have quoted police officers as saying that the riots were continued by "troublemakers" rather than community members upset by the closure of the mosque. It is amazing though just how many troublemakers there are these days waiting to take advantage of peaceful protests. Either way, the world cannot afford right now for disaffected youths to take advantage of sensitive political issues connected to religion , such as mosque closures.
