Jewish and Christian communities in Türkiye have joined a global chorus condemning the desecration of Islam’s holy book – the Quran – in Sweden in late January.

"This scene brings to mind the Nazis," Lena Posner-Korosi, the head of the Council of Swedish Jewish Communities, told the Turkish newspaper Milliyet in an exclusive interview on Thursday, referring to far-right politician Rasmus Paludan’s torching of a copy of the Quran in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm a couple of weeks back.

As he desecrated the holy book, Paludan threatened to do it again every Friday until Sweden was allowed into NATO, and he repeated it the following week in front of a mosque in Denmark.

"It’s an absolute shame that one person shows his hatred in such a way. If a person wants to burn the Quran, they could also want to burn Muslims. It’s a major disgrace to allow this act," said Korosi.

Echoing Korosi’s condemnation, Ishak Haleva, the chief rabbi of Türkiye, too denounced the incident via Milliyet.

Stressing the significance of having respect for the faith of others, Haleva said: "As we have stated on social media accounts of our community as soon as this grave incident took place, we strongly condemn Rasmus Paludan, who burned the Quran in front of the Turkish Embassy in Sweden and those who allowed him."

Describing Paludan’s demonstration as a "hate crime" and an "act of religious terrorism," the chief rabbi reiterated "the need for everyone to respect one another’s faith and culture as well as protection of these through law."

Yusuf Çetin, the spiritual leader of the Virgin Mary Syriac Orthodox Church in Istanbul, expressed his "strong condemnation" on behalf of himself and his congregation.

"No matter where in the world, I believe all people must respect each other’s religion and holy books. We’re constantly praying for incidents like this to not repeat and for world peace," Çetin told Milliyet.

"Permitting acts such as this is not acceptable under either democracy or freedom," he stressed.

Bartholomew I, the archbishop of Istanbul and Ecumenical Patriarch and the spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church, highlighted the "primitiveness" of Paludan’s book burning as he denounced it and a similar act carried by another far-right radical, Edwin Wagensveld, the leader of the Islamophobic group PEDIGA, who tore out and burned pages of the Quran in The Hague two days after Paludan.

"We genuinely believe the majority of people in Sweden or the Netherlands condemn these primitive acts and their perpetrators in their hearts," said the archbishop.

"We strongly condemn these savage, insolent and disrespectful attacks on the Quran. The duty that befalls us religious leaders is to preach respect for the sanctities of members of different religions and together condemn similar impertinences by meeting on this axis," the patriarchate said in a separate statement.

The 85th Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul Sahag II Mashalian, too, declared there was "no excuse to justify" the incident. "It cannot be overlooked that this abominable act not only hurts the religious feelings of Muslims, it is also directed towards stoking enmity between peoples of different religions," Mashalian said in a statement.

"It’s certain that this statement cannot in any way be associated with democracy, freedom and human rights and will not be tolerated by people sharing these emotions," the archbishop stressed and concluded, "The community of Turkish Armenians regretfully condemns this uncivilized act. It is known that at a time the world is facing various struggles how much love and peace is needed."

Assessing damage

Meanwhile, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson came together with the representatives of his country’s Muslim community, weeks after the Quran burning incidents that shook the broader Islam world, in a continuation of talks launched by the preceding administration in Stockholm.

Kristersson "appreciated" the dialogue he had with the Swedish Muslim community and answered "important" questions raised by the representatives, including their situations and recent events, according to a statement from his office on Twitter.

Tahir Akan, the head of the Islamic Association in Sweden who was among the other four Islamic foundations to partake in the meeting, revealed the get-together was organized with the initiative of Kristersson and centered around the rising hate crimes against Islam in the country.

"We expressed the concerns of Muslims in Sweden. We underlined that Sweden is a lenient state and lately, its image in the international arena has begun to reverse," Akan told Anadolu Agency (AA).

Kristersson assured the representatives that his office cares about dialogue with the Muslim community in Sweden and would do its best to develop it, Akan relayed.

In addition to protests worldwide, Muslims and Jews, as well as rights activists in Sweden took to the streets to protest Paludan’s Islamophobic act and the Swedish officials distancing themselves from the protests while citing "freedom of speech."

Demonstrations continue in Türkiye, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark and many other countries as people draw attention to the increase in Islamophobia and call for action to protect Muslims in Europe. A Swedish rights activist has highlighted that granting permission for acts like the Quran burning not only affects Muslims but endangers other religious groups too.

"Paludan’s actions are spoon-feeding racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. If the law can't stop that, there's clearly something wrong with the law!" political scientist Helene Sejlert said earlier this week.

Türkiye, as Paludan’s first target, has been particularly vocal in condemning the desecration as officials called Paludan an "Islam-hating charlatan" and arguing the incident only "proved the hateful mentality of the West," with Erdoğan saying, "Did they wipe out Islam by burning our Quran? ... They just showed how ignoble they are."