Muslims urge boycott of Swedish brands

ALBAWABA - Muslims worldwide launched a campaign for boycotting Swedish brands following the burning of the Quran by right-wing politician Rasmus Paludan.

Also ReadWorld condemns burning Quran in Sweden

Paludan, who heads the Danish far-right political party Hard Line, burned the Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Sweden on Friday, triggering worldwide condemnation, which some described as a "vile act."

In return for the Quran burning, Muslims released a campaign online calling for an end to purchasing Swedish brands and products.

The hashtag "#مقاطعة_المنتجات_السويدية — boycott Swedish products" was trending in several countries, where people used it to highlight the Swedish brands that must be boycotted.

The brands include IKEA, H&M, Spotify, Ericsson, Volvo and many others.

"No one can call this freedom of expression and freedom of thought," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated. 

Many Arab countries, including Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also condemned the Swedish politician's Quran burning calling it an "Islamophobic" move. Protests were also staged in several Arab countries to denounce the Swedish politician.

On the other hand, a similar boycott campaign against French brands and products was launched in response to offensive anti-Islamic caricatures shared by Charlie Hebdo newspaper.