Erdoğan slams Sweden for allowing Quran burning
ANKARA
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has strongly condemned the burning of the Muslim holy book the Quran in Sweden on June 28, further clouding the Nordic nation’s chances of quickly joining NATO.
“We will not bow to the politics of provocation and threat. We will show our opposition against Islamophobia,” Erdoğan said in a video message to celebrate Eid al-Adha of his party's members.
“We will eventually teach Western monuments of arrogance that insulting Muslims is not freedom of thought,” he said.
Those who commit the crime, who allow it under the guise of freedom of thought will not achieve their goals, Erdoğan added.
“Eid al-Adha, which unites people of different languages, religions, and cultures, is the symbol of solidarity. It is about sharing the joy of the holiday by gathering around a table with our brothers and sisters,” Erdoğan added.
Under a heavy police presence, Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old who fled to Sweden several years ago, on June 28 stomped on the Quran before setting several pages alight in front of Stockholm’s largest mosque.
Police in the Swedish capital had granted him a permit for the protest in line with free speech protections but said later they had opened an investigation into the man over “agitation.”
The incident occurred as Muslims around the world began marking the Eid al-Adha holiday and as the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia was drawing to a close.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also condemned the burning of the Muslim holy book the Quran in Sweden, describing the act as “vile” and “despicable.”
“I condemn the despicable act committed against our Holy Book, the Holy Quran, on the first day of Eid al-Adha,” Fidan said in a written statement on social media.
“It is unacceptable to allow these anti-Islamic actions under the pretext of freedom of expression.”
“Turning a blind eye to such atrocious acts is to be complicit,” Fidan added.
Muslim nations denounce act
Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern nations on June 28 also condemned the burning of the holy book by an Iraqi living in Sweden, warning such acts “inflame” the feelings of Muslims around the world.
Iraq condemned the Swedish authorities’ decision to grant an “extremist” permission to burn the Quran.
“These events inflame the feelings of Muslims around the world and represent a dangerous provocation for them,” the foreign ministry in Baghdad said.
Iran joined in the condemnation, calling the Quran burning “provocative, ill-considered and unacceptable.”
“The government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran... do not tolerate such an insult and strongly condemn it,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani.
“The Swedish government is expected to seriously consider the principle of responsibility and accountability in this regard, while preventing the repetition of insulting the holy sanctities,” he added.