Protest held in Istanbul against Quran burning in Sweden

By Mehmet Kara

ISTANBUL (AA) - A protest against the burning of the Quran in Sweden was held outside the Swedish Consulate General in Istanbul on Sunday.

The demonstration was staged by the Free Cause Party (Huda Par) and Quranic Generation Platform (Kuran Nesli Platformu).

Officials at the consulate general pasted a paper on the window, saying: “We do not share that bookburning idiot's view.”

Speaking to reporters at the protest, Mahmut Sahin, the deputy head of the Free Cause Party, strongly condemned the burning of a copy of the Quran by a Swedish-Danish right-wing extremist in Stockholm.

"The real culprit is the Swedish government that allowed such an action. The action cannot be justified," Sahin said.

Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right Stram Kurs (Hard Line), was granted permission by the Swedish government to burn the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on Saturday.

In response to Sweden's permission, Ankara has canceled Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson's upcoming visit to Türkiye.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned Swedish Ambassador to Ankara Staffan Herrstrom, who was told that Türkiye "strongly condemns this provocative act, which is clearly a hate crime, that Sweden's attitude is unacceptable, that Ankara expects the act not to be allowed, and insults to sacred values cannot be defended under the guise of democratic rights."

* Writing by Zehra Nur Duz