Sweden allows the burning of the Koran in front of the Turkish embassy; envoy summoned
On Saturday, the Turkish government summoned the Swedish ambassador in Ankara and asked for an explanation as to how the Koran was burned in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
According to a report from Washington Post, the Swedish right-wing leader Rasmus Paludan was given permission to burn the Koran by the Swedish government. He was protected by the police when he committed the crime.
Turkish Foreign Ministry sources said the ambassador was made very clear about Turkey’s condemnation, stating that the act was provocative and “obviously a hate crime”.
“Sweden’s attitude is unacceptable. We expect that the act will not be allowed, and that insults to sacred values cannot be defended under the guise of “democratic rights”.
Recently, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, Finland and Sweden applied for NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) membership, of which Turkey is already a member for 70 years.
To become a member of NATO, the candidate country must receive approval from all 30 countries. Hungary and Turkey have so far not given a response.
Who is Rasmus Paludan
Rasmus Paludan is a convicted racist who leads Denmark’s far-right Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party and has both Danish and Swedish nationality.
Last week he burned the effigy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Stockholm. Daily mail reported.
Although Sweden condemned the incident, Turkey said that the Nordic country must take a stronger stand and that it is not enough to simply condemn.
Last year in April during Ramzan, the 41-year-old announced that he would be going on a ‘Quran Burning Tour’. He started burning the holy book in places where the dominant population is Muslim.
This was followed by riots and over 40 people were arrested.
Paludan has been a controversial figure. In September 2020, he was banned from entering Sweden for two years. That same year in October, he was barred from entering Germany after announcing that he would hold an anti-Muslim demonstration in Berlin.