Turkey has condemned yet another incident of the burning of the Koran, Islam’s holy book, during a protest in Sweden which could threaten the Nordic country’s application for membership in the NATO alliance.
“On the first day of Eid al-Adha, I condemn the disgraceful act against our holy book, Koran, in Sweden!” Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan said in a statement on Twitter
“It is unacceptable to allow these anti-Islamic actions under the pretext of freedom of expression. To turn a blind eye to such heinous acts is to be complicit in them.”
Fahrettin Altun, the head of communications for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, noted in a statement that the book burning occurred on the holiest day in Islam.
“We are sick and tired of enabling of Islamophobia and continued instances of hatred for our religion on the part of European authorities, especially in Sweden,” Altun said.
“Those who seek to become our allies in NATO, cannot tolerate or enable destructive behaviors of Islamophobic and xenophobic terrorists.”
Altun encouraged Swedish authorities to take “swift action” and a “clear stance” against what Turkey called “terrorism.”
“They cannot hide behind the excuse of freedom of expression and freedom of speech,” Altun said. “Fighting terrorism is simply the most fundamental requirement in a civilized society and is a basic prerequisite of any serious alliance.”
The alliance has not addressed the latest controversy, but NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday and said in a statement the two leaders “agree that it is time to welcome #Sweden as a full member of #NATO.”
Turkey’s condemnation came after Salwan Momika, a protester who immigrated to Sweden from Iraq, obtained a police permit that allowed him to burn the book.
“Security risks and consequences connected to a Koran burning are not of such a nature that, according to current law, they can be the basis for a decision to reject an application for a general meeting,” reads the permit, obtained by CNN.
However, Swedish police noted that burning the Koran could “mean an increased risk of a terrorist attack” and “have foreign policy consequences.”
“This book should be banned in the world because of the danger it causes to democracy, ethics, human values, human rights, and women’s rights,” Momika told CNN. “It just doesn’t work in this time and age.”
In January, the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning to its citizens planning to travel to the United States and Europe following protests against Turkey.
Turkish officials cited recent protests in Sweden and other European nations in which anti-Islamic demonstrators burned the Koran.
During one such protest, the far-right extremist Rasmus Paludan, a Danish-Swedish politician who leads the Danish political party Stram Kurs, videotaped himself burning the Koran in front of the Turkish embassy.
