Turkish FM condemns burning of Muslim holy book Quran in Sweden

‘To turn a blind eye to such atrocious acts is to be a partner in crime,’ says Hakan Fidan

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Wednesday condemned the burning of the Muslim holy book Quran in Sweden on the first day of Muslims’ major festival of Eid al-Adha.

“I condemn the vile action in #Sweden against our Holy Book, Quran, on the first day of the Eid-al-Adha!,” Fidan wrote on Twitter.

“It is unacceptable to allow these islamophobe anti-Muslim actions under the pretext of freedom of expression,” he added.

“To turn a blind eye to such atrocious acts is to be a partner in crime,” he said.

Fidan’s remarks came after Swedish authorities granted permission for a Quran-burning protest outside a mosque.

Meanwhile, Omer Celik, a spokesperson for Türkiye’s Justice and Development (AK) Party said in a statement: “We condemn the Swedish authorities’ approval of the application to burn the Qur’an in front of a mosque on Eid al-Adha.”

“We strongly condemn the Swedish Supreme Court’s stance on protecting hate crimes. Every disrespect is a crime against humanity. We will continue to fight against these cursed acts in the strongest way possible on all political and legal grounds,” Celik added.