It was Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who was the first to denounce “unbearable” attacks against Islam in Europe at the United Nations. He and other leaders of Muslim countries (Iran, Qatar) used the platform of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday to attack European countries, in particular Sweden, where “undignified” desecrations and burning of copies of the Koran took place at meetings.
An Iraqi refugee in Sweden, Salwan Momika, sparked a wave of international outrage in June when he burned the Koran outside Stockholm’s largest mosque on the first day of Eid al-Adha, a holiday celebrated by Muslims around the world trampled on.
VIDEO. Koran burned: Swedish embassy in Iraq set on fire by protesters
Iraq demanded his extradition from Sweden last week. The latter condemned the desecration of the Koran and at the same time emphasized the prevailing freedom of expression and assembly in this area. At the end of August, the government of neighboring Denmark presented a bill that would ban the burning of Islam’s holy book.
For his part, President Erdogan has been pressuring Sweden for months to take action against these desecrations, against a backdrop of high tensions between the two countries: Ankara ended a 14-month blockade in July by lifting its veto on Sweden’s accession to NATO. Turkey criticizes Stockholm for alleged leniency towards Kurdish activists who have sought refuge on its soil.
“Unbearable” Islamophobia
During his speech to the UN General Assembly in New York, the Turkish leader estimated that “racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia” had reached “unbearable” levels in the European countries he did not name.
Recep Erdogan accused “populist politicians in many countries of continuing to play with fire” and further judged that “the despicable attacks in Europe against the Koran (…) darken the future” of the old continent.
In a speech also harshly aimed at the American enemy and the West in general, conservative Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi asserted that “the fire of disrespect would not destroy divine truth.”
Kissed the Koran
The leader of the Shiite Islamic Republic held up a copy of the Koran several times, kissing it with his lips before placing it on the desk.
“The Islamophobia and cultural apartheid that we see in Western countries, from the desecration of holy books of the Koran to the ban on the hijab in schools and other numerous deplorable discriminations, are not questions of human dignity,” criticized Ebrahim Raïssi. without mentioning Sweden or France.
For his part, the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, whose wealthy Gulf state is an ally of the West, reiterated that “the Koran is too holy to be desecrated by an idiot.”