Turkey Urges Sweden To Take Real Steps On Attacks On The Al-Qur'an

Illustration - Demonstration to reject the burning of the Quran. BETWEEN/Noradika/ss/pd/pri.

JAKARTA - Ankara expects real steps from Stockholm to prevent attacks on the holy book Al-Qur'an. This was conveyed by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom, Sunday, July 30. Over the phone, Fidan and Billstrom discussed a series of attacks on the Quran in Sweden recently, according to diplomatic sources requesting anonymity, quoted from Anadolu, Monday, July 31. Fidan told Billstrom that "continuing this despicable act on behalf of freedom of expression is unacceptable." In recent months, there have been frequent burning or blasphemy against the Quran, or attempts to carry out these actions by figures or Islamophobia groups, especially in northern Europe and Nordic countries. The two foreign ministers also exchanged views on Sweden's delayed attempts to join NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), according to the source. At the NATO summit earlier this July, Turkey gave the green light regarding Sweden's desire to become a member of the North Atlantic defense alliance. Turkey's parliament this fall will vote on support for Sweden. Turkish officials explained that they expect Sweden to take steps in the right direction if the country wants to gain from the Turkish parliament. On Monday, Fidan will attend an online meeting of foreign ministers member countries of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) related to repeated acts of "provocative logging" against the Quran in Sweden and Denmark. "The meeting will consider the rise of Islamophobia in Europe and the concrete steps that may be taken to fight this phenomenon as well as to establish a common stance with the OIC against this heinous attack," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.