Swedish authorities should take steps regarding Quran burning: EU Commission

By Omer Tugrul Cam

BRUSSELS (AA) - Swedish authorities should take steps regarding the burning of a copy of the Quran, the Muslim holy book, in Sweden, a spokesperson for the EU Commission said Monday.

Johannes Bahrke said in a press conference that such actions are not in line with the values on which the EU is founded.

Bahrke said racism, xenophobia, racial and religious hatred "have no place in the EU."

Condemnations continued to pour in from across the Arab and Islamic worlds over the burning of a copy of the Quran, by a Swedish-Danish right-wing extremist in the Swedish capital, Stockholm.

Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the Stram Kurs (Hard Line) Party, under the protection of police and with permission from the government, burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on Saturday.