These days, a fiery debate is raging in Sweden on whether to return jihadists stuck in the Middle East or not. A professor has sparked outrage by claiming to be ready to welcome the terrorists in exchange for critics of immigration.

Andreas Petterson, a doctor of law and an associate professor at Södertörn University, one of Sweden's leading institutions of higher learning, caused a stir ith his proposal to send critics of immigration and proponents of harsher measures against terrorists to the Middle East and bring home the "Swedish" jihadists instead.

According to Petterson, who educates Sweden's future policemen, Sweden can easily take in jihadists in return for people whose views contradict his own, such as right-wing Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson, centre-right Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson and legal spokesman Tomas Tobé, as well as the editorial staff of Göteborgs-Posten and Svenska Dagbladet, two major dailies that sometimes publish opinion pieces and editorials some people view as biased against immigrants.

"Can't we just make a trade with Syria? We take home the IS terrorrists, and they get Tobé, Kristersson, Åkesson, and GP's and SvD's editorial staff?" Petterson tweeted.

Kan vi inte bara göra ett byte med Syrien? Vi tar hem IS-terroristerna, de tar Tobé, Kristersson, Åkesson, GP:s och SvD:s ledarredaktioner? — Andreas Pettersson (@WelfareStateLaw) 26 февраля 2019 г.

​However, his take appears to have rubbed Swedes the wrong way. Not only did people react strongly to Petterson's 'solution', but he was called "insane" and "disgusting" and his diatribe a "heartless mockery of all Daesh victims".

READ MORE: Sweden Has Become for Jihadis 'What Argentina Was for Nazis' — MP

"Send him to Syria, where he belongs best", one commenter said.

"Hey! I have worked as a lead writer at Göteborgs-Posten. Under the [centre-right] government, I took part in elaborating Sweden's first action plan against violent extremism. And you compare me to Daesh terrorists. You need a basic course in democracy", journalist Jenny Sonesson wrote.

"I have written columns and opinion pieces for both SvD and GP. Feel free to link to a text that is as hideous as rape, sex slave trade, murder, torture and child mutilation, burning people alive and throwing homosexuals from rooftops. Stunned by some people's limitless idiocy," journalist Johan Ingerö said.

"40 Yazidi sex slaves were recently found beheaded (most of them children). And here we have Andreas Pettersson, a "doctor of law" at Umeå University, who finds new bottom levels of basic human decency," Expressen columnist and Islamism watchdog member Sofie Löwenmark tweeted.

Södertorn University, which has 13,000 full-time students and is tasked with providing basic training to the police, has been called a "stronghold of left-wing extremism" and "a place where numbskulls congregate".

"Does anyone really want to hire the poor people indoctrinated by Södertörn University? Gender studies and geopolitical fallacies etc. Not much to offer in terms of added value-producing," another user wrote.

In his defence, Petterson stressed that his post was a joke and shouldn't be taken at face value.

Regardless, some people cheered at his proposal, despite stressing that Syria "already had enough problems".

READ MORE: Outrage as Norwegian Broadcaster Publishes Plea by Daesh Bride's Father

Over the past weeks, Sweden has been engulfed in a passionate discussion on what to do with jihadists with Swedish citizenship currently stuck in the Middle East. While some, such as aforementioned Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson, stressed that the jihadists had "depleted their right to call themselves Swedes" and "have forfeited their citizenship", many politicians and columnists urged Sweden to own up to its responsibility. At the same time, many Swedish media ran personal stories of "remorseful" terrorists and troubled "Daesh brides" begging to be taken back.

* Daesh (ISIS/ISIL/IS/the Islamic State) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia