The head of religious affairs in Turkey, Ali Erbaş, announced that his country will file lawsuits before courts in 120 countries, to take a stand against attacks on Islam and its symbols, in response to the Swedish authorities allowing a Danish extremist with Swedish citizenship to burn a copy of the Noble Qur’an in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.

Meanwhile, international condemnations of this incident escalated to include an international organization, the European Union, Germany, and a large number of Arab and Islamic countries.

Arbaş said - in statements during his meeting with journalists today, Monday, commenting on the incident of burning a copy of the Holy Qur’an last Saturday - that the lawsuits will be filed in cooperation with the attaches and advisors of the Turkish Presidency of Religious Affairs in 120 countries.

He added that the Presidency of Religious Affairs plans to hold a meeting with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Wednesday via the Internet, to show a collective reaction against the heinous incident in Sweden and some anti-Muslim attacks in Europe.

Erbash indicated that the Presidency of Religious Affairs will communicate with intellectuals in Europe to deliver a message to the various segments of Western society, and confirmed that he discussed yesterday, Sunday, with the heads of units affiliated with Religious Affairs, filing lawsuits in the courts of 120 countries, and sending letters to different places showing the position on the attacks.

And on Saturday, the leader of the Danish far-right "hard line" party, Rasmus Paludan, burned a copy of the Holy Qur'an near the Ankara embassy in Stockholm, amid the strict protection of the Swedish police, who prevented anyone from approaching him while committing the provocative act.


For his part, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that it is not possible to accept Sweden's failure to take the necessary measures regarding provocations targeting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Holy Quran.

He added, in a speech during a meeting with the leaders of the Turkish forces today, Monday, in which he commented on the membership of Sweden and Finland in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), "They want us to support them for their security, but they refuse to cooperate with us in order to combat terrorism, and we cannot accept insulting our president." And our Quran and our flag are inside Swedish lands.”

In turn, the head of the communication department in the Turkish presidency, Fakhruddin Altun, confirmed that burning a copy of the Noble Qur’an has nothing to do with freedom of expression, but rather it incites violence against Muslims.

Speaking to a Swedish newspaper on Monday, he said, "There is a difference between freedom of expression and hate speech, and this act has nothing to do with freedom of expression, as it is an incident that incites violence against Muslims, especially in Sweden."

The International Alliance of Civilizations

At the international level, the High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, Miguel Angel Moratinos, condemned the "despicable act" of burning a copy of the Holy Qur'an, and considered what happened as "contempt and insult to Muslims."

"While the High Representative stresses the importance of upholding freedom of expression as a basic human right, he also stresses that the act of burning the Qur'an is an act that amounts to hatred of Muslims," ​​said Nehal Saad, a spokeswoman for Moratinos, in a statement.

Moratinos stressed - in the statement - the need not to confuse these practices with freedom of expression.

Demonstrations outside the Swedish Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey (Reuters)

The European Union condemns

The European Union also condemned the incident of burning the Holy Qur’an, and the European Commission demanded - today, Monday - the Swedish authorities to take steps regarding the incident.

Commission spokesman Johannes Baherki said, at a news conference in Brussels, that such practices are not in line with the values ​​on which the European Union is based.

"As we have said many times before, there is no place for racism, xenophobia, ethnic and religious hatred in the European Union," he added, stressing that "the Swedish authorities must deal with this issue and take steps regarding it."

Germany condemns

In turn, the German Foreign Ministry condemned - today, Monday - the burning of a copy of the Holy Qur'an in Sweden, and considered the incident "a provocative act aimed at fomenting division."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Christian Wagner told reporters in Berlin that burning a copy of the Qur'an "was a very rude and inappropriate act," stressing that his country "condemns this behavior." He also expressed his belief that "this act does not represent the view of the majority of Swedish society."

Demonstrations and injuries in Iraq

In the latest developments in the popular Arab discontent over the incident of burning a copy of the Holy Quran, today, Monday, about 500 people in Iraq participated in a demonstration in front of the headquarters of the diplomatic mission in Sweden, where clashes took place during the demonstration, in which a policeman and 7 demonstrators were wounded, according to a security source.

"The clash occurred when demonstrators threw stones and advanced towards the security forces and the embassy building, while the security forces responded by beating demonstrators with sticks," the source added, stressing that "a police officer and 7 demonstrators were injured during the clashes."

The demonstrators raised slogans, including "No to Sweden, yes to the Koran."

Turkey also witnessed demonstrations condemning the incident, as well as several cities in northern Syria and southern Gaza Strip.

Protests against the burning of a copy of the Noble Qur’an in Iraq resulted in injuries as a result of clashes with the police (Anatolia)

President of the House of Representatives of Jordan calls for an immediate apology

And from Jordan, Parliament Speaker Ahmed Al-Safadi described, on Monday, the burning of a copy of the Holy Qur’an as an “extremist act,” calling on his country’s foreign ministry to address the Swedish embassy to offer an “immediate apology.”

Al-Safadi added, during a speech at the beginning of a session of the House of Representatives (the first chamber of Parliament), according to a statement, "We condemn in the strongest terms these practices that inflame the feelings of billions of Muslims around the world, and constitute an insult to Muslims and the Noble Qur’an that urges love, goodness, justice, equality, and the goodness of societies." .

Al-Safadi called on the Swedish authorities to stop "foolishness that would destabilize security and stability, and which blatantly contradict human, moral and religious values ​​and principles."

Wide Arab and Islamic condemnations

Also, 14 Arab countries condemned the burning of a copy of the Noble Qur’an, namely: the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain), Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Morocco, Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria, Libya, and Somalia;

In separate official statements.

The incident was also condemned by other Islamic countries: Malaysia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, in separate official statements.

Arab and Islamic organizations and bodies

In the context, 15 Arab and Islamic organizations, bodies, movements, and personalities condemned - in separate statements - Sweden's permission to burn a copy of the Qur'an, namely: the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab League, the Arab Parliament, Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, the Council of Senior Scholars in Saudi Arabia, and the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al Sheikh, the Muslim Brotherhood, the International Union of Muslim Scholars, the Muslim World League, the Association of Palestinian Scholars in Gaza, the Palestinian Liberation Movement (Hamas), the Islamic Jihad Movement, the Lebanese Hezbollah, and the Yemeni Houthi group.

Swedish reaction

Commenting on the broad Arab and Islamic reactions, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said - in a tweet on Twitter on Saturday - that "the anti-Islamic provocations are appalling," but stressed that "Sweden enjoys great freedom of expression, but this does not mean that the Swedish government or I myself support the opinions expressed.”