The Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the repeated desecration of the Quran and the Turkish flag in Denmark on Friday, as it urged Danish authorities to prevent such provocations.
In a statement released Friday, the ministry said that the hate crime was committed during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Noting that a similar attack was carried out on March 24, the ministry said authorizing such a “heinous act under the guise of freedom of expression is absolutely unacceptable and that such an approach can never be justified.”
The ministry also pointed to the lack of legal and administrative measures and political will to prevent such hate crimes.
“This act is clear proof that Islamophobia, xenophobia, discrimination and racism have recently increased in Europe. Such acts of hate crime also constitute an offense to those who believe in tolerance, the culture of peaceful coexistence and democratic values. Being unable to see this fact and condoning these acts is a grave negligence,” the ministry added.
The ministry also said it summoned Denmark’s envoy and urged Danish authorities to take necessary action to prevent such provocations and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Recent months have seen several acts of Quran burning, or attempts to do so, by Islamophobic figures or groups in northern Europe and Nordic countries.
In January, ultranationalist, far-right extremist and racist politician Rasmus Paludan also burnt a copy of the Quran in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm and again in front of a mosque in Copenhagen. Türkiye summoned the Danish ambassador over the incident.
Days after Paludan, another far-right extremist Edwin Wagensveld, leader of the anti-Islam party PEGIDA, tore apart a Quran before setting it on fire at a demonstration in Enschede, the Netherlands.
The desecration of the Quran has since drawn worldwide outrage and condemnation and calls for an end to the authorization of Islamophobic protests.
