Turkey on Monday strongly condemned the attacks and provocations against Islam around the world during the holy month of Ramadan, singling out an Islamophobic incident in Sweden in which a far-right politician burned the Muslim holy book, the Quran. Ankara called on all countries and international organizations to take the necessary measures to combat Islamophobia and racism.
"In the holy month of Ramadan, we once again condemn in the strongest possible terms the attacks and provocations against Islam, Muslims, the Quran and places of worship in different parts of the world," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"The vile attacks on our holy book, the Quran, in Sweden have shown that the lessons of the past have not been learned, that there is still hesitancy to prevent Islamophobic and racist provocative acts, and that hate crimes are openly and overtly tolerated under the guise of freedom of expression," it added.
It underlined that Turkey will keep fighting against the threat posed by the Islamophobic and racist mentality.
Ankara calls on all countries and international organizations to take the necessary measures against Islamophobia and racism, it added.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also Tuesday criticized a Swedish far-right politician for burning the Muslim holy book Quran and said such "neo-Nazi movements have led to increased Islamophobia."
Urging to work and collaborate against any form of racism and anti-Islam rhetoric, Çavuşoğlu in a joint presser with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto said attacks on mosques and the burning of the Quran do not have anything to do with freedom of expression.
Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın also slammed the Islamophobic attack in Sweden.
"I condemn the racism that goes so far as to burn the Quran in Sweden and the mentality that feeds it," Kalın said on Twitter.
Turkish officials have criticized their Western counterparts for remaining indifferent to anti-Muslim sentiment and fueling the ideology, while experts believe Turkey can lead the fight against it. Turkey has continuously called on world leaders to take action to stop the demonization of Muslims and has been taking action to tackle the growing problem.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has frequently said that Western countries insist on not taking measures against growing anti-Islam sentiment. Erdoğan has also called on Turkish institutions to take action on issues related to Muslims and Turks in these countries. Some European countries, particularly France, have embraced a hostile stance against Muslims in recent years.
On Thursday, Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the far-right Stram Kurs ("Hard Line") party, burned a copy of the Muslim holy book in southern Linkoping in Sweden, according to media reports.
Paludan also threatened to burn copies of the Quran during extremist rallies.
Following the provocation, protests have continued in parts of the country, the Swedish daily Expressen reported.
Three people were injured Sunday in Sweden's eastern city of Norrkoping when police reportedly fired on demonstrators during protests against the burning of the Holy Quran.
In a statement, the Norrkoping police department claimed that the officers fired in the air to stop the demonstrators from attacking the police and that those injured appeared to have been hit by ricocheting bullets and are now being treated at a hospital.
Riots broke out in the cities Malmo, Norrkoping and Jonkoping as well as in the capital Stockholm, leaving 125 police vehicles damaged and 34 officers injured, while 13 people were detained.
Swedish police said Monday that the riots that have shaken several cities and towns in the Nordic country are extremely serious crimes against society and they suspect some protesters are linked to criminal gangs that intentionally target police.
Sweden, a nation of 10 million, has seen unrest, scuffles, arson and violence since Thursday that has left some police officers and protesters injured. It was triggered by Danish-Swedish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan’s burning of the Quran, provocative meetings and other planned Quran burnings across the country.
Iraq’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday summoned Sweden’s charge d’affaires over Paludan’s burning of the Quran and more planned burnings, reportedly saying that such activity could seriously endanger Sweden’s relations with the Muslim world.
Similarly, in Iran, dozens of students gathered Monday at Sweden’s Embassy to protest Paludan’s actions. Chanting “Insulters of Quran must be condemned!” they also repeated traditional slogans such as “Death to America!" and “Death to Israel!”
