Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Al-Abdullah condemned the burning of a copy of the Holy Quran, yesterday, Saturday, in front of the Turkish embassy in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, by Rasmus Paludan, leader of the extremist Danish "Stram Kurs " movement.
The burning of a Holy Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm is condemned by the foreign minister, according to KUNA, who also appeals to the international community to put an end to such reprehensible crimes, reject all kinds of extremism and intolerance, and hold those responsible accountable.
Turkish Presidency: Burning the Qur’an is a crime against humanity
Ibrahim Kalin, the Turkish presidency's spokesperson, on the other hand, criticized the Swedish government for allowing a Holy Qur'an copy to be burned in front of the Ankara embassy building in Stockholm, emphasizing that this action promotes anti-Islamic and hate crimes.
Kalin said on his Twitter account on Saturday: "We strongly condemn the burning of a copy of the Holy Qur'an in Stockholm. This is a crime against humanity and a clear hate crime."
He added, "Allowing this measure despite all our warnings is an encouragement of hate crimes and anti-Islam. The attack on sacred values is not freedom, but modern barbarism."
The Swedish authorities had issued a decision allowing Paludan to burn a copy of the Noble Qur’an in front of the Turkish embassy building in Stockholm.
Following the decision, Ankara summoned Sweden's ambassador and informed him of its condemnation in the strongest terms.
The Stockholm Police Department stated that Paludan had obtained permission to organize a demonstration near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
Swedish state television reported that Swedish journalist Chang Frick offered Paludan to burn a copy of the Holy Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm on Saturday, and guaranteed that he would cover all expenses.
In a statement to state television, Frick claimed that he had paid the price for the demonstration permit obtained from the police and that he would exercise his right to cover it as a journalist.
The far-right politician Waludan has been carrying out provocative acts by burning copies of the Holy Qur’an in various cities in Denmark since 2017.
Ankara cancels Swedish defense chief's visit to Turkey over Quran burning permission.
Ankara has canceled Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson's upcoming visit to Türkiye in response to Sweden's permission for a planned burning of the Quran, Islam's holy book, near the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.
"We regretfully witnessed that no measures were taken as a result of these vile and heinous acts against Türkiye and our President (Recep Tayyip Erdogan). Therefore, at this point, the visit of Swedish Defense Minister Jonson to Türkiye on January 27 has become meaningless. So we canceled the visit," Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told reporters on Friday after the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at Ramstein airbase in Germany.
Prominent scholar calls Quran burning in Sweden a ‘racist message’
Masoud Kamali, a former special investigator in Sweden, told Anadolu that burning the Muslim holy book in front of the Turkish Embassy is a “political and racist message” aimed at Muslims that transcends to all European countries and beyond.
The act, he said, is a “political game,” adding that the freedom of speech today is giving racist groups permission to attack migrants and Muslims and to enable them “to say whatever they want and make any action that they want.”
He said that if a racist politician like Rasmus Pludan or anyone else was denied permission to burn Quran, it would not have damaged the freedom of speech.
