No, Muslim worshippers in Sweden didn’t protest against Christians over Easter weekend

By: Naledi Mashishi
April 5 2024

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What is the claim?

A TikTok video posted on April 2, 2024, claims that Muslim worshippers in Sweden took to the streets during Easter weekend to protest against Christians. The video depicts a group of protesters, many of whom are wearing Islamic head coverings, and holding Swedish signs and Qurans. They are chanting slogans, including "Allahu Akbar," which is Arabic for "God is the greatest" and is often used as an expression of faith, joy, or determination. 

Superimposed over the video is the text, "Muslim worshippers in Sweden take to the streets in protest against Swedes." Followed by the clip of the protesters is a clip of a man who has covered his face and says, "in Sweden, they are protesting against Christians. They're protesting that the Christian folks have power over the Muslim folks and they didn't want that to happen. They want to make sure they're heard first, they want to make sure they can do anything and however they like." 

The caption for the video reads, "This what a typical Easter weekend now looks like in Sweden." 

The footage appears to be from a genuine protest. But the protest wasn't recent, and it wasn't against Christians. It depicts a 2023 protest against Quran burnings.

What we found

The footage appears to have been taken from a cell phone, making it difficult to find the original footage. However, we found one TikTok video uploaded on July 9, 2023, that appears to be from the same protest. In it protesters yell “sluta bränna vår koran” (stop buring our Quran). They then begin chanting "Allahu Akbar." The protesters are holding up signs and Qurans while facing a building. This is the same building visible in the original TikTok video. 

Screenshot from TikTok video claiming to depict Easter weekend protests and screenshot from similar TikTok video uploaded on 9 July 2023. Both videos show the same building and depict similar scenes of placards and protesters holding Qurans. (Source: TikTok/Screenshot/Markup by Logically Facts)

The same sign is visible across the two videos, indicating they were taken at the same demonstration. The sign says, “bekämpa islamofobi och hat” (fight Islamophobia and hatred).

Corner of sign visible in TikTok video and the same sign seen in the video taken from 9 July demonstrations. (Source: TikTok/Screenshots/Markup by Logically Facts)

The account that uploaded the video has more videos from the same protest at similar angles, suggesting it is their footage. Logically Facts contacted them to find out if they took the original footage, but has yet to receive a response. 

On 9 July 2023, a protest was held by the Islamic Federation at the Medborgarplatsen in Stockholm to demonstrate against Quran burnings in the country. Notably, several weeks earlier, a man named Salwan Momika ripped up and burned pages from the holy book in front of a mosque, sparking international outrage among the Muslim community. Approximately 4,000 protesters – including non-Muslims who were present to show solidarity – peacefully protested in the square.

We could not find any evidence of anti-Christian protests in Sweden over the past Easter weekend. There was a protest of over 5,000 demonstrators in Stockholm on 31 March, but this was against Israel's actions in Gaza.

The verdict

A video on TikTok claims that Muslims in Stockholm, Sweden protested against Christians during Easter weekend. However, the video uses old footage from a 2023 protest that was against Quran burnings. We could find no evidence of any anti-Christian protest over Easter in the Swedish capital. We have therefore rated this claim as false.