A man burned pages of a copy of the Koran at a Swedish police-sanctioned “gathering” in front of Stockholm’s largest mosque on Wednesday, June 28, angering Ankara, which denounced an “unacceptable” act.
According to AFP journalists, Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi who fled his country to Sweden, in beige chinos and a light-colored shirt, kicked the Koran several times before shoving in slices of bacon and burning a few pages at the spot.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan immediately condemned the incident on Twitter: “It is unacceptable to allow these anti-Islamic actions under the pretext of freedom of expression.”
An “abhorrent,” “despicable” act that makes even countries hosting such acts “accomplices”: The Turkish government found no harsh words to condemn the act of an Iraqi refugee earlier in the afternoon on Wednesday, our reports Correspondent in Istanbul, Cherry Sudry-Le Dû. He burned some pages of the Koran and said he wanted to express his “opinion” on the religion.
The action was authorized by the Swedish police, based on a decision by the Administrative Court a few days ago that said burning a holy book did not pose a “threat” to security.
An incident that coincides with Eid al-Adha, a holiday celebrated by Muslims around the world.
This makes Sweden’s membership in NATO even more difficult. Turkey is blocking the country’s accession to the international defense organization on the pretext that it harbors terrorists from the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. On July 6, talks between representatives of both countries will take place in Brussels, Allianz Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Wednesday.
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