On January 21, Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Stram Kurs ("Hard Line") party, burnt a copy of the Quran in front of the Turkish embassy under the protection of authorities. The Swedish Prime Minister said that freedom of expression is a key value for his country, calling the burning legal, but deeply disrespectful.
Somalia "strongly condemns" the Swedish authorities for allowing the Quran burning in Stockholm, Somalia’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
"Allowing this hateful act that insults Islamic sanctities and values is completely unacceptable," the Somali foreign ministry stated, adding: "It is nothing but a demagogic practice that promotes hatred and racism and serves the agendas of extremism and terrorism."
The ministry underlined "the importance of spreading the values of dialogue, tolerance and coexistence," calling on Sweden "to take strong measures" against rising Islamophobia.
Ulf Kristersson, leader of the center-right party Moderates, makes his way to a press meeting in the Riksdag, Stockholm, Wednesday Nov. 14, 2018 - Sputnik International, 1920, 24.01.2023
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Rasmus Paludan's actions were met by a strong backlash, especially in the Muslim world. The foreign ministries of a number of Gulf states, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, officially condemned the burning.
Protesters gathered before the Swedish embassy in Ankara in a demonstration against Paludan's act, which the Turkish Foreign Ministry deemed a "vile attack". Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that after allowing the burning, Sweden would not receive support from Ankara on the issue of joining NATO.
Erdogan stated earlier that if Sweden and Finland wanted Turkey to ratify their NATO bids, the Northern European countries had to extradite about 130 supporters and activists of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara.
