Foreign Ministry strongly condemns burning copy of Holy Quran in Sweden

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned, in the strongest terms, the burning of a copy of the Qur’an by the leader of “Hard line” far-right Danish political party Stram Kurs, Rasmus Paludan, in front of the Turkish embassy in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, amid the strict protection of policemen, who prevented anyone from approaching him while he was committing his awful crime.

In a statement issued today, Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs considered the Danish extremist’s burning copies of Holy Quran a crime and a provocative incitement to more than two billion Muslims in various continents of the world, and as a result of the continuation of populist discourse in Europe based on hatred on the basis of belief, race or religion.

The statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned of the consequences of such provocations, stressing that populist discourse is considered one of the forms of violence and terrorism that Western countries claim to fight in their literature and laws before the world.

It called on the Swedish and Danish authorities to investigate this crime, and to hold accountable those responsible for extremist groups, given that what is happening is in no way related to the freedom of opinion, expression, and freedom of belief that Western countries repeat on a daily basis.

Foreign Ministry stressed the need to adopt a binding resolution criminalizing all forms of hatred and extremism, and to hold perpetrators accountable.