Angered Turks Set Swedish Flag Ablaze in Istanbul after Quran Burning in Sweden (+Video)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Hundreds of protestors gathered in front of the Swedish consulate in Istanbul on Saturday and set fire to the Swedish flag, following a Quran-burning event outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
A small group gathered outside the Swedish embassy in Ankara to protest the Quran-burning. A protest was also scheduled to take place in Istanbul on Saturday evening.
Turkey denounced Sweden after protests in front of its embassy in Stockholm including the burning of a Quran by far-right supporters and a separate demonstration by Kurdish activists.
Ankara said on Saturday it was cancelling a visit by Sweden’s defense minister aimed at overcoming Turkey’s objections to its NATO membership. Sweden needs Turkey’s backing to gain entry to the military alliance as fears in Europe grow after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Turkish foreign ministry responded immediately in a statement.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the vile attack on our holy book… Permitting this anti-Islam act, which targets Muslims and insults our sacred values, under the guise of freedom of expression is completely unacceptable,” the ministry said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu vented fury at Swedish authorities’ failure to ban the protest. “It’s a racist action, it’s not about freedom of expression,” he said.
Several Muslim countries – including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait – also denounced the Quran-burning.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani vehemently condemned the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden, slamming the move as a brazen example of hatemongering and violence against Muslims.
"The repetition of the desecration of the holy book of one and a half billion Muslims is a clear example of hatemongering and the spread of violence against all Muslims (around the world). Such actions have nothing to do with freedom of expression and opinion," Kanaani said on Saturday.