A Muslim leader linked to a terrorist organisation in Syria has trampled on the Swedish and Norwegian flags and then set them afire in a videoclip claiming that “Allah is the Lord of the world”, the news outlet Samhällsnytt reported.
The flag-burning video is intended as a reaction to the high-profile Quran burning in Malmö and anti-Islamic demonstration in Norway, where a copy of the Quran was ripped.
In the video, reportedly recorded in the Syrian city of Idlib, the Muslim man holds a copy of the Quran while stepping on the Swedish and Norwegian flags, claiming that both countries have recently held anti-Islamic demonstrations. Among other things, the man says that burning the Quran is wrong and calls the people who did it criminals.
According to Samhällsnytt, the preacher has been identified as Sheikh Abu al-Abd Ashidaa, an Aleppo local and former commander of the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a branch of the terrorist group Al-Nusra*. The HTS has been branded as a terrorist organisation by the US, the UK, Canada, Russia and Turkey for its links to al-Qaeda's* network in Syria. In addition to opinion building on YouTube, Sheikh Abu al-Abd Ashidaa is reportedly involved in a new group called al-Jihad Coordination.
At the end of August, the Danish anti-Islamic party Hard Line visited the Swedish of Malmö to demonstrate against Islam, which it believes cannot be integrated into civilised societies. During the visit, a copy of the Muslims' holy book, the Quran, was burned in the ethnic enclave of Rosengård, whereas a game of “Quran football” was held at another square. The incidents sparked violent riots among Malmö's Muslim population, during which several police officers were injured. The Swedish authorities unsuccessfully tried to stop the demonstration, and the city of Malmö subsequently denied any religious undertone to the riots.
The following day, Stop the Islamisation of Norway (SIAN), an anti-Muslim organisation, held a demonstation in Oslo, shredding a copy of the Quran and calling Prophet Muhammed a “paedophile and warmonger”. This also sparked riots and condemnation from Norway's authorities.
* Al-Nusra and al-Qaeda are terrorist organisation banned in Russia and other countries
