The repercussions of burning the Holy Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm
A storm of anger in the Islamic world after the leader of the far-right Danish “hard line” party, Rasmus Paludan, burned a copy of the Holy Qur’an near the Ankara embassy in Stockholm, amid strict protection from the Swedish police, who prevented anyone from approaching him while he was committing the provocative act.
Erdogan to Sweden: No one despise the beliefs of Muslims … do not wait our support for joining NATO
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that Sweden should not expect Turkey to support its file for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), after a protest near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm at the weekend, after a copy of the Holy Quran was burned.
Erdogan said – in a speech delivered after a meeting of the government at the presidential complex in Ankara – “If you do not respect the religious beliefs of Turkey or Muslims, do not expect any support from us regarding your membership in NATO.”
Ankara was angered by allowing the far-right Danish-Swedish Rasmus Paludan to demonstrate in front of the Turkish embassy in the Swedish capital. This anti-Islam activist burned a copy of the Holy Quran, amid tight security and behind police barriers.
Erdogan continued, “This ugly act in Sweden is an insult to all those who respect people’s basic rights and freedoms, especially Muslims.” He added, “The Holy Qur’an, which our Lord preserves, will never be harmed if a copy of it is burned by one of the remains of the Crusaders, and we know that since the Crusades Europe has equated the concepts of Islam and the Turks, and we are proud of this equality.”
“If (Sweden) loves the members of the terrorist organization and the enemies of Islam very much, we recommend that it resort to these people in its defense… No one has the freedom to insult the sanctities of Muslims or other religions.” he added.
Erdogan explained that the limits of individual rights and freedoms, which form the backbone of democracy, end when the rights and freedoms of others are attacked. He pointed out that “the occurrence of this despicable attack on the Qur’an in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm turns this issue into a religious and national issue for Turkey.”
Turkish Foreign Minister: Hate crimes are not freedom of expression
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu denounced the Swedish authorities for allowing the leader of the Danish far-right “hard line” party to burn a copy of the Holy Qur’an and stressed that such crimes do not fall within the framework of freedom of expression.
Oglu said that they “do not allow the burning of books of other religions, but when it comes to the Holy Qur’an and hostility to Islam, they immediately invoke freedom of thought and expression.”
He pointed out that the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Swedish ambassador to Ankara to the ministry’s headquarters and issued the necessary warnings to him, explaining that the Turkish ambassador to Stockholm, Yonat Janzel, spoke directly with the Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Bilstrom in this regard.
Turks distributing flowers to churches
The official Anadol Agency said that a group of Turkish youths in the southern state of Mardin distributed flowers to churches in response to an extremist’s burning of a copy of the Holy Quran in Stockholm they presented flowers to church officials to express their refusal to burn the Holy Quran.
Ibrahim Khalil, who documented the moments of distributing flowers with his camera, said, “We thought, as young Muslims, how we respond to the incident that took place in Sweden and we decided to comply with the will of our master Muhammad, so we visited the churches”
The church affirmed in a statement that burning the Holy Book of the Islamic world is unacceptable, and does not only target the feelings of Muslims.
International condemnations are escalating, and Turkey decides to file lawsuits in the courts of 120 countries in response to the targeting of Islam and its symbols.
