The Turkish government described this Wednesday as “vile” and “despicable” to the new public burning of a Koran which was made in Sweden. In this regard, Turkey related the incident to the veto it imposed on Stockholm’s NATO entry, insinuating that complicates its adherence to the military alliance.
“Especially before the NATO summit, the Swedish authorities, who want to be allies of Turkey, should put an end to illegality and provocations that take place in their country under the guise of freedom and take the necessary measures,” said Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc. Added to this, he described as “scandalous” that the Swedish Police have allowed the burning of the holy book for Muslims in front of a mosque in Stockholm.
With the expected vote of the Turkish Parliament, Finland will join NATO
In this sense, he affirmed that freedom of religion and conscience “is the most fundamental human right”, before which he maintained that insulting beliefs cannot be justified within the scope of freedom of expression. “No judicial decision can legitimize this insult, This situation cannot be protected by any democratic State of law,” denounced Tunc.
In line with his statements, Hakan Fidan, Turkish Foreign Minister, described the act as “despicable” and stressed that it took place on the first day of the sacrifice festival. “It is unacceptable that these anti-Islamic acts are allowed. under the pretext of freedom of expression. Turning a blind eye to such heinous acts is complicity in the crime,” he noted.
And I add: “I curse the despicable act committed against our Holy Book, the Holy Qur’an, on the first day of Eid al-Adha”.
Salwan Momika (37) burned the holy book “to express my opinion on the Qur’an.”
The statements by the Turkish government come after 37-year-old Salwan Momika burned a copy of the Koran next to a mosque in Stockholm on Wednesday. The man, who fled Iraq to Sweden several years ago, had asked the police for permission to burning Muslim holy book “to express my opinion on the Qur’an”before which the authorities approved his request.
The event, attended by some 200 people and with a strong police presence, passed without serious incidents although one person was detained by the police for carrying a stone in his hand. During the deed, Momika stomped on the Quran, putting strips of bacon on it, setting the pages on fire before slamming it shut and kicking it while he was waving Swedish flags. Before the protest, he had told the news agency TT who also wanted to highlight the importance of freedom of expression.
The episode was authorized by the Swedish Justice.
The police authorization for the protest came two weeks after a Swedish appeals court rejected a police decision to deny permits for two demonstrations in Stockholm that were to include the burning of the Koran. “The problems of order and security to which the Police refer do not have a clear enough link to the planned gatherings to refuse permissionan administrative appeal court said in a ruling earlier this month.
This is not the first episode of this nature in Sweden. In that line, last January another copy of the Koran was burned in front of the Turkish Embassy by the Danish-Swedish far-right Rasmus Paludan. This fact provoked a wave of protests abroad, including Turkey, which maintains the blockade on the ratification of Sweden’s entry into NATO, approved a year ago at the Madrid summit.
MB / ED