The Turkish Jewish community has also joined a worldwide crowd denouncing a far-right politician’s burning of the Quran in Stockholm on Saturday as protests continue to rage in Türkiye and condemnations pour in from the international community.
“We strongly condemn Rasmus Paludan and those who permitted him to burn the Quran,” the community said via Twitter on Saturday evening, hours after Swedish-Danish anti-Islam activist Paludan burned a copy of Islam’s holy book in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm with permission from Swedish authorities and under police protection.
“This is a hate crime, an act of religious terror. We should all respect each other’s beliefs and cultures,” the Jewish community said.
Paludan’s act, which has been widely dubbed as an “Islamophobic hate crime” sparked worldwide outrage over the weekend for its provocative, anti-Islam and blatantly anti-Türkiye motives.
Ankara has been vocal in its reaction, condemning the burning session as a “vile attack despite repeated warnings.” It also scrapped visits from Sweden’s parliamentary speaker and defense minister to Türkiye.
Swedish officials’ allowing Paludan to carry out his hate crime also puts more strain on bilateral ties between the two countries, especially amid the Nordic country’s bid to join NATO, which is likely to hit a dead-end following the turbulent weekend.
Türkiye is home to a sizable Jewish community, which is mainly concentrated in Istanbul. However, their numbers have dwindled over the years due to in part migration to Israel.
