Amy Mek
In an in-depth interview with RAIR Foundation, Rasmus Paludan, founder of the Hard Line Party (Stram Kurs) and an accomplished attorney, delved into his political evolution, his landmark legal battles, and his unwavering commitment to preserving freedom of speech and Western values. A fearless defender of Western civilization, Paludan—who holds both Danish and Swedish citizenship—has become one of the most hunted politicians in the world for exposing the dangers of Islam and the engineered Islamization of Christian nations.
Paludan’s Hard Line Party, based in Denmark, stands as a bulwark against mass Islamic migration, which he identifies as the greatest threat facing Europe. Few politicians have fought so relentlessly to defend Western culture, risking their lives to address what others refuse to confront. Paludan’s outspoken warnings about Islam and its incompatibility with democratic values have made him a target of global Islamist networks, including Al-Qaeda, which placed him on its kill list. Islamic leaders such as Erdogan in Turkey have sought his imprisonment—an effort many believe is a thinly veiled attempt to silence or eliminate him altogether.
The price of Paludan’s courage has been immense. Muslims have taken to the streets across both Western and Islamic nations, openly calling for his death simply because he dared to criticize Islam. Rather than rallying to protect his fundamental right to free speech, left-wing Western leaders—and even some conservatives—have disgracefully joined in condemning him, further endangering his life. Paludan is relentlessly hunted not just by Islamic extremists but also by the very governments sworn to protect him—both Sweden and Denmark.
Paludan has rightly been compared to Geert Wilders, a fellow defender of the West, yet remains lesser-known outside Europe. He is the Nordic Geert Wilders—a political leader who has put his life on the line to defend Denmark, and by extension, all of Western civilization, from cultural and demographic destruction. He recognizes that mass Islamic migration is not a random phenomenon but a deliberate weapon to destabilize Christian nations and erase their heritage.
Despite death threats, riots, and state persecution, Paludan refuses to be silenced. His journey from accomplished attorney to fearless political leader began during Europe’s migration crisis—when he first confronted the hard truths others sought to ignore.
The Making of a Counter-Jihadist
Rasmus Paludan’s journey from lawyer to political leader began in 2015 amidst Europe’s migration crisis. Born in 1982 to a Danish-Swedish family, Paludan’s early career focused on law. After a brief stint in the Danish army, he established himself as a defense attorney in 2014, gaining recognition for his expertise in civil litigation. In addition to his legal practice, Paludan taught law at the University of Copenhagen, where he first clashed with what he describes as “woke orthodoxy.”
The European Union-engineered migrant crisis marked a turning point. Paludan observed with alarm the massive influx of Muslim migrants, predominantly young men, who fled their responsibilities in their own countries to exploit Western welfare systems and undermine societal stability. “These weren’t refugees fleeing immediate danger,” he said. “They were opportunists who exploited Western generosity to bring in their families, often entire clans of 20 or more.”
Paludan detailed the crimes that accompanied this migration, particularly violent and sexual assaults. Among the most shocking incidents was the 2015 case of a 14-year-old Austrian boy raped by a Syrian migrant in a public pool. The perpetrator defended his actions as a “sexual emergency.”
“The governments and media looked the other way,” Paludan said. They had betrayed their own people. “That was the moment I realized that speaking the truth about Islam and migration wasn’t just unpopular—it was forbidden.”
This realization led Paludan to activism. He took to social media to denounce the growing threat of Islam in Europe. A hard-hitting post read: “If you are a Muslim rapist and commit rape in the EU, you don’t deserve to breathe the same air as the residents of the EU.” The backlash was immediate. Left-wing activist law students filed complaints, arguing that his views were incompatible with his role as an educator.
“That’s when I knew this was bigger than me,” he said. “It wasn’t just about immigration—it was about whether we, as Europeans, still had the right to defend our values.”
The Birth of Stram Kurs
In 2017, Paludan co-founded the Hard Line Party (Stram Kurs) with a single mission: to halt Muslim immigration and ensure the repatriation of non-assimilating migrants. The party’s platform is unapologetically nationalist, conservative, libertarian, and counter-jihadist.
“Muslim migration is not just Denmark’s biggest issue—it’s the West’s biggest issue,” Paludan asserted. “It overshadows everything else. If we don’t address this, no other policy will matter.”
Paludan is quick to clarify that his opposition targets Islamic ideology, not individuals. “Islam is more than a religion—it’s a political system that demands submission,” he said. “It’s fundamentally incompatible with the freedoms that define the West.”
The party’s methods, particularly Quran burnings, quickly drew international attention. While many criticized these acts as provocative, Paludan defended them as a necessary means of exposing Islam’s incompatibility with democracy. “Freedom of speech isn’t just about polite debate,” he argued. “It’s about challenging ideas, even when it’s uncomfortable.”
The Quran Burnings and Legal Persecution
Rasmus Paludan’s Quran burnings have become synonymous with his activism, drawing Islamic and left-wing condemnation and massive international attention. To Paludan, these acts are more than mere provocations—they are a statement about freedom of speech and the ideological incompatibilities between Islam and Western democratic values.
“Freedom of speech isn’t just about polite debate,” Paludan argued. “It’s about challenging ideas, even if that makes people uncomfortable. Islam demands submission, but we cannot afford to submit.”
Paludan’s Quran burnings ignited widespread unrest among Muslims both in the West and across the Islamic world. The most notable instance occurred during Sweden’s 2022 parliamentary elections when riots erupted in Muslim-majority areas in response to his protests. The violence resulted in 500 police officers injured, vehicles set ablaze, and entire neighborhoods plunged into chaos. Despite not being physically present at many of these locations, Paludan was blamed for incitement by left-wing open-border advocates and Muslim leaders.
“These riots weren’t about me,” Paludan clarified. “They were about a growing rejection of Western laws and norms by Islamist communities. They were rejecting Sweden, not just my message.”
Rather than addressing the violent rejection of Western values, Sweden’s courts targeted Paludan himself. In one notable case, he was convicted of hate speech in Malmö—Sweden’s most heavily Islamized city—for “unreasonable criticism” of Islam. This charge showcased the lengths to which authorities would go to silence dissent.
Despite relentless threats and accusations, Paludan defended the necessity of his actions:
“If burning a Quran is enough to incite riots and violence, that says more about Islam than it does about me.”
Landmark Legal Battles
Rasmus Paludan’s legal battles have not only defined his heroic fight for free speech but also exposed Europe’s dangerous descent into authoritarian censorship designed to shield Islam from all criticism.
His first significant victory came in 2017 when Paludan defended a Danish man charged with burning a Quran. The case led to the repeal of Denmark’s decades-old blasphemy law—a landmark moment for freedom of expression.
“It wasn’t just about one man burning a book,” Paludan explained. “It was about defending the principle that ideas, even religious ones, should not be above criticism.”
However, this victory was short-lived. By 2023, Denmark reinstated a harsher blasphemy law officially dubbed Lex Paludan. Unlike the old law, which carried a minor fine or short imprisonment, Lex Paludan escalates Quran burnings to a crime of treason and espionage, punishable by up to two years in prison. In an Orwellian twist, Paludan himself was one of the first targets under this draconian legislation.
Meanwhile, in Sweden, Paludan faced intensified persecution under the guise of hate speech laws. In one high-profile case, a court convicted him of criticizing Islam in ways deemed “unreasonable.” In another, his sarcastic praise of Arabs and Muslims was ruled hateful, as the court arbitrarily decided his intent was malicious—despite the lack of clear evidence.
Paludan exposed the absurdity of such rulings:
“How can a court decide what I meant better than I can? If intent is up for interpretation, freedom of speech becomes meaningless.”
These cases highlight a terrifying trend across Europe: hate speech and anti-blasphemy laws are weaponized to silence critics of Islam while emboldening its adherents to demand submission. Paludan views himself as a litmus test for free speech in the West:
“If they can criminalize me for criticizing an ideology, they can criminalize anyone.”
The Ramadan Riots and Sweden’s Decline
Paludan’s Quran-burning protests during Sweden’s 2022 parliamentary elections exposed the fragility of Sweden’s democracy as Muslim-majority areas erupted into riots. Over four days, hordes of violent rioters injured 500 police officers, torched vehicles, and transformed entire neighborhoods into war zones.
“The riots were the worst Sweden had seen in decades,” Paludan said. “And they occurred in areas where I wasn’t even present. It wasn’t me they were protesting—it was Sweden itself.”
Despite not being elected, Paludan’s courageous campaign forced a political reckoning. Migration-critical parties gained significant ground, leading to the collapse of the Social Democratic government.
“Sweden is a failed state,” Paludan declared. “It’s overrun by no-go zones and completely dominated by Islamic influence. But at least my campaign forced people to confront these realities.”
Living Under Constant Threat
Paludan has endured relentless threats, both from Islamic extremists and governments determined to crush his movement. In 2020, Danish police shot an Islamic assailant who attempted to stab him during a rally. Paludan lived under around-the-clock security for years, moving between undisclosed locations and safe houses to evade danger.
“The threats are exhausting,” he admitted. “But I refuse to be silenced.”
Paludan acknowledged that Islamist terror groups shifted their focus somewhat in 2023 following Hamas’s attacks on Israel. However, the threat in Sweden remains significant, particularly in Muslim-dominated areas like Malmö.
“Malmo isn’t just dangerous for me—it’s dangerous for anyone.”
The Erosion of Free Speech Across Europe
Paludan’s persecution is part of a broader trend where European governments prioritize appeasement of Islam over the fundamental rights of their citizens. Across the continent, critics of Islam and mass migration face harassment, imprisonment, or worse.
“Freedom of speech is dying,” Paludan warned. “If you criticize Islam or migration, you face prosecution—or worse.”
He cited chilling examples: Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, activists imprisoned in the UK, and Austrians prosecuted for daring to oppose mass immigration.
“In the UK, a man was sentenced for leaving bacon outside a mosque, and he was later killed in prison. That’s not justice—that’s state-sanctioned murder.”
A Chilling Effect
Paludan warns that the repercussions of his convictions extend far beyond his personal experiences. The message from European authorities, he believes, is clear and chilling: any dissent against the Islamization of the West will not be tolerated.
“People see what happens to me—being taken to court for criticizing an ideology, receiving death threats for exercising free speech—and they decide it’s not worth the risk,” he explained. “Even if they feel the same way I do, they stay silent, and that’s how democracy dies—not with riots, but with silence.”
This orchestrated suppression of public debate, Paludan argued, is part of a deliberate strategy. “Governments and media have become complicit in silencing critics of immigration and Islam,” he said. “They use hate speech laws, social ostracization, and intimidation to crush dissent.” The result is a self-censoring population—one unwilling to confront uncomfortable but necessary truths about mass migration and Islam’s impact on Western societies.
“The chilling effect isn’t just about fear of prison or fines—it’s about the fear of being branded a pariah, losing your job, or being ostracized by your community,” Paludan said. “This fear is more powerful than any law, and it’s being weaponized to silence the majority.”
He emphasized that a society where people cannot speak freely about the issues affecting them is no longer a democracy. “True democracy requires robust debate,” he asserted. “Without it, we’re left with a hollow shell of freedom, where only state-approved opinions are allowed.”
The Demographic Challenge
For Paludan, unchecked migration is not only a political crisis but a demographic one. He recalled a rally where a Pakistani man declared, “In ten years, this will be Pakistan!”
“That wasn’t just rhetoric,” Paludan stressed. “It’s a reflection of the mindset many migrants bring with them: they see themselves not as guests or contributors, but as future rulers.”
He pointed to alarming birthrate disparities as a key factor in this transformation. “Muslim families often have five or more children, while native Europeans average just two. This isn’t just an abstract statistic—it’s a demographic tipping point. Within a few generations, the cultural and political makeup of our nations will be unrecognizable.”
Paludan argued that government policies—such as family reunification and generous welfare benefits—encourage large migrant families at the expense of native taxpayers.
“Demography is destiny,” he said. “And if we don’t act now, we risk losing not just our cultural identity but the freedoms and values that define Western civilization. A society that prioritizes the rights of incoming populations over the survival of its own people is committing slow suicide.”
Plans for the Future
Despite the challenges, Paludan is far from deterred. His focus remains on building Stram Kurs into a political force capable of effecting real change. The party is currently collecting the signatures required to contest Denmark’s next parliamentary elections. Paludan is determined to use this platform to advocate for stricter immigration controls and the restoration of free speech.
“I’m not an activist—I’m a political leader,” he stated. “This isn’t about burning Qurans or provoking reactions. Those are tactics to draw attention to deeper issues. My goal is systemic change, which means working within the political system, no matter how rigged it may seem.”
Paludan also plans to challenge Denmark’s oppressive blasphemy laws through creative methods, such as incorporating Quran burnings into theatrical productions, potentially bypassing legal restrictions.
“Every obstacle they throw at me only strengthens my resolve,” he said. “They want to ruin me financially, socially, and politically. But as long as I have breath, I’ll keep fighting for Denmark and the West.”
A Call to Action
Paludan’s message to his supporters and the broader public is both a warning and a rallying cry. “We are at a crossroads,” he declared. “If we continue down this path, we’ll wake up in a Europe where freedom is a distant memory, where speaking your mind is a crime, and where the values that built this continent are trampled underfoot.”
He urged citizens not to succumb to fear or apathy, emphasizing that change is still possible but requires courage and collective effort. “Standing up for what’s right is never easy,” he said. “But the alternative is far worse—a future where our children grow up in a society that no longer resembles the one we inherited.”
Paludan also called out Western leaders for betraying their own people. “Our politicians have sold us out, trading our freedoms and safety for virtue-signaling and cheap labor,” he said. “It’s up to ordinary citizens to take a stand, to demand accountability, and to refuse to be silenced.”
His parting words were a challenge to anyone who values freedom: “Speak out, even when it’s difficult. Support those who dare to stand up. And never, ever let them make you feel like you’re alone—because you’re not.”
Below is a list of RAIR Foundation articles and exclusive interviews featuring Rasmus Paludan:
- Sweden Crushes Free Speech: Politician Rasmus Paludan Jailed for Daring to Criticize Islam in a Landmark Assault on Political Dissent – Published: October 20, 2024
Analyzes the persecution of Rasmus Paludan by European governments, the violent Islamic backlash he faces, and the broader implications for free speech and the survival of Western civilization. - Weaponizing the Courts: Swedish Government Seeks to Imprison Political Opponent – Published: October 20, 2024
Analyzes the Swedish government’s legal actions against Paludan and the implications for political dissent. - Politician’s Quran Burning Tour Rages On: I Will Burn This ‘Stupid Book’ As Long As Erdogan Blocks Sweden’s NATO Membership (Watch) – Published: January 28, 2023
Paludan announces his intention to continue burning the Quran in protest of Turkey’s opposition to Sweden’s NATO membership. - Muslims Erupt After Qur’an Burning: Turkey Rejects Sweden’s NATO Membership Unless It Submits to Islamic Blasphemy Laws – Published: January 28, 2023
Discusses the geopolitical fallout from Paludan’s actions, including Turkey’s stance on Sweden’s NATO membership. - Politician Who Burned the Quran and Set the Islamic World On Fire: ‘I Have Proven Again That People All Over the World Are Not the Same’ (Interview) – Published: February 1, 2023
Paludan reflects on the global reactions to his Quran-burning protests and the cultural differences they highlight. - Exclusive Interview With Rasmus Paludan: Why Burning the Qur’an is the Path Back to Free Speech (Video) – Published: August 7, 2023
Paludan discusses his belief that burning the Quran is a means to reclaim free speech rights. - Exclusive Interview: Politician Rasmus Paludan On Why He Burns Qur’ans and Sweden Went Up in Flames (Watch) – Published: April 22, 2022
In this interview, Paludan discusses his motivations behind burning the Quran and the subsequent riots in Sweden. - Quran Riots in Sweden: Islamic Migrants Violently Seize Control As Police Retreat (Videos) – Published: April 17, 2022
Reports on the violent riots in Sweden following Paludan’s Quran-burning demonstrations. - Head Of Danish Political Party Rasmus Paludan Savagely Attacked By Muslims Yet Arrested For ‘Racism’ (Exclusive Interview) – Published: August 6, 2020
An interview with Paludan after being attacked during a rally and subsequently arrested on charges of racism. - Danish Politician Rasmus Paludan Fights Back: Sues Sweden Over His Unconstitutional Ban (Watch) – Published: August 6, 2020
Covers Paludan’s legal battle against Sweden’s ban on his entry, which he argues is unconstitutional. - WATCH: Danish Politician Rasmus Paludan put on Al-Qaeda Hit List (Exclusive Interview) – Published: August 6, 2020
Paludan reveals being targeted by Al-Qaeda and discusses the implications of being on their “hit list.” - Sharia Denmark: Head of Political Party Rasmus Paludan Heads to Prison for Crime of ‘Racism’ (Watch) – Published: July 9, 2020
Details Paludan’s sentencing in Denmark for charges related to racism and his views on Islam. - Video Interview Series: Hunted Danish Politician Rasmus Paludan and Director of Gates of Vienna Ned May – Published: September 7, 2019
A series of interviews featuring Paludan and Ned May discussing various topics related to Islam and free speech.
Vlad Tepes
“Trump will meet with Emmanuel Macron after the French president invited him to attend Saturday’s star-studded VIP event for the official reopening of the newly restored Notre Dame Cathedral, five years after a devastating fire wrecked the centuries-old Paris landmark.”
IS THE MUSLIMSHIT THAT STARTED THE FIRE ALREADY ARRESTED AND HANGED?
NO?
WHY NOT?
WHY IS TRUMP MEETING THE LEADING TERRORISTS OF EU; MACRON, VON DER LEYEN, etc ?
PALUDAN SHOULD BE THE LEADER OF EU!
BRAVO PALUDAN!
“Notre Dame rises from the ashes as a symbol of hope
860-year-old Notre Dame Cathedral was rebuilt using traditional materials and modern safety features”
USELESS RESTORATION, BECAUSE IT DOESN’T TAKE LONG TIME BEFORE IT IS BURNED DOWN AGAIN BY MUSLIMSHITS.
START THE BETTING!
They are more likely to install a minaret and just call it a mosque like the Hagia Sophia.
EXACTLY!
IT DOESN’T TAKE LONG BEFORE THE NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL IS EITHER BURNT DOWN AGAIN OR MADE INTO A MOSQUE!
MACRON WOULD LOVE THE NEW NOTRE DAME, THE NEW NAME WOULD OF COURSE BE:
THE UGLY MOHAMMED MOSQUE.
“Social media reacts to Trump ‘dominating world leaders’ with Macron handshake during meeting in France
Trump met with Macron Saturday in France”
WHY IS TRUMP MEETING AND SHAKING HANDS WITH FRANCE’S MOST DANGEROUS TERRORIST AND GENOCIDE CRIMINAL MACRON?
THE ONLY SOLUTION:
ALL CRIMINAL & CORRUPT EU “LEADERS” (exept Orban, of course) MUST BE HANGED FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY!
START WITH THE GENOCIDE CRIMINAL URSULA “URINE” VON DER LEYEN, THEN THE REST!
OUT WITH ALL MUSLIMSHITS FROM EU IMMEDIATELY!
Paludan = Paladin!