Türkiye calls on Europe to protect Quran

European countries need to take action and protect the Quran, Türkiye insists.

European countries should not justify attacks on the Quran with freedom of speech, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on 24 TV.

Kalin pointed out that freedom of speech cannot be a reason to hush up what is happening, to justify shame, insults, humiliation, and attacks on sacred values. "Europe must take measures to prevent such attacks," he stressed.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag reiterated Kalin’s claims. According to Cavusoglu, Europe, in particular Sweden and Denmark, resorts to a policy of double standards. Bozdag is sure that the reason for the burning of the Quran in Europe is hatred of Islam.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, such actions incite inter-religious hatred and offend the feelings of believers.

In recent days, the burning of Qurans in Europe is regularly carried out by Danish radicals. First accident took place on January 21, when Rasmus Paludan burned the Quran at the Turkish embassy in the Swedish capital; on January 23, his supporter Edwin Wagensveld took a similar action in The Hague. Furthermore, on January 27, Paludan burned three Qurans in a day in Denmark: one sacred Islamic book was destroyed near the mosque, the second—at the consular department of the Russian embassy, the third—at the Turkish embassy.

Vestnik Kavkaza reported earlier that Western countries have been repeatedly resorting to provocations related to the burning of the Quran.