Ankara Summons Danish Ambassador Over Quran Desecration In Copenhagen - Source

Sumaira FH Published January 27, 2023 | 08:57 PM

The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned the Danish ambassador to Ankara to protest against the decision of the Danish authorities to authorize a demonstration involving a Quran desecration in Copenhagen, a diplomatic source told Sputnik

ISTANBUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th January, 2023) The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned the Danish ambassador to Ankara to protest against the decision of the Danish authorities to authorize a demonstration involving a Quran desecration in Copenhagen, a diplomatic source told Sputnik.

Last Saturday, Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the far-right Danish political party Stram Kurs, burned a copy of the Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm after receiving permission�for a protest from the Swedish authorities. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the demonstration and said Sweden should not count on Ankara's support for its NATO bid. Paludan, in turn, vowed to hold a similar demonstration in the Danish capital on Friday, January 27, media reported.

"The Danish ambassador was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry after it emerged that the Danish authorities had given permission for a demonstration to desecrate the Quran.

We told the ambassador that we resolutely condemn the permission for such a provocation qualified as a hate crime," the source said.

Later in the day, media reported that Paludan had burnt the Quran in the Danish capital despite the Turkish Foreign Ministry demanding that the authorities prohibit the demonstration.

A similar protest also took place in the Netherlands on Monday. Far-right Dutch politician and leader of the Islamophobic group Pegida Edwin Wagensveld tore out pages from a copy of the Muslim holy book and burned them in front of the parliamentary building in The Hague. However, media reported that the local authorities had allowed the demonstration, provided he does not burn the Muslim holy book. The Turkish Foreign Ministry still summoned the Dutch ambassador to Ankara in connection with the controversial protest.