Ankara: Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned the Danish ambassador to Ankara, Danny Annan, for allowing a demonstration that included the burning of a copy of the Quran in front of a mosque and Turkish embassy in the Denmark capital, Copenhagen.
Paludan burned a copy of the Quran in front of a mosque belonging to the “Islamic Community Association” after the end of Friday prayers in the Dorthevig neighborhood, under police protection.
Shortly after he burned the copy of the Quran in front of a mosque, Paludan burned a copy of the Quran again in front of the Turkish embassy in Copenhagen.
Paludan vowed to continue every Friday until Sweden is admitted into NATO.
Sweden and neighboring Finland are seeking to join the military alliance amid the war in Ukraine, in a historic departure from the non-aligned policy. But their entry requires the approval of all Nato members, and Turkey has indicated it will block Sweden’s bid – partly because of Paludan’s initial stunt. Even before that, Ankara has been pressuring the two countries to crack down on Kurdish militants and other groups it considers terrorists.
The Danish ambassador was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry where Turkish officials strongly condemned the permission given for this provocative act which clearly constitutes a hate crime.
As per a report by Anadolu Agency, the foreign minister assured the ambassador of Turkey’s condemnation in the strongest terms of allowing provocative action that involves an attack against the Holy Quran and is considered a hate crime.
The ambassador was told that “Denmark’s position is unacceptable” and that Turkey expects the permission to be revoked.”
Turkey’s foreign ministry later issued a statement calling Paludan an “Islamophobic charlatan” and denouncing the fact that he was allowed to organize the demonstration.
“Showing tolerance towards such heinous acts that offend the sensitivities of millions of people living in Europe threatens the practice of peaceful coexistence and provokes racist, xenophobic and anti-Muslim attacks,” the ministry said.
On Saturday, January 21, Paludan burned a Quran near the Turkish embassy in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, under strict police protection, which prevented anyone from approaching him while he was committing this act.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Sweden could no longer count on Turkey’s “support” in its NATO membership file.
