MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. A Quran-burning incident that took place in the Swedish capital of Stockholm yesterday with the permission of the police sparked a strong reaction across the world. Turkey made it clear that the incident may threaten Sweden’s NATO membership. Russian lawmakers passed a special statement condemning the activity.
TASS has collected the key facts about the incident and its consequences.
Scandalous activity
The scandalous act took place on Wednesday, on the Muslim holy day of Eid al-Adha. Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi immigrant, tore up a copy of the Quran and burned it outside a mosque in downtown Stockholm. There were about 200 spectators; one of them tried to throw a stone at Momika but police stopped him.
Meanwhile, the Swedish police said in a statement that no "explicit permission to burn" the sacred book of Islam had been given, but they were aware there was going to be "a Quran-related demonstration." Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that such activities are "legal but inappropriate."
Islamic world reacts
Morocco recalled its ambassador from Stockholm in protest of the burning of the Quran. The Iraqi government, as well as the foreign ministries of Egypt and Jordan, slammed the activity as a manifestation of islamophobia. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry stressed that the burning of the sacred book should not be equated with freedom of speech and expression. Iran interpreted the incident as an expression of support for extremism and Islamophobia. Ankara expects Sweden to take immediate action to bring those involved in the activity to justice, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz stated.
'It’s a crime in Russia'
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the city of Derbent in the Dagestan Region on Wednesday. He did not directly mention the Stockholm incident but noted that in Russia, disrespect for the sacred book of Islam was a crime "both under the Constitution and Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code." "It is a crime as it shows disrespect and incites religious hatred," Putin specified.
On Thursday, members of Russia’s State Duma (the lower house of parliament) passed a statement strongly condemning the act of vandalism sanctioned by the Swedish authorities and calling on them to take measures to prevent violations of the rights of Muslims and insults to their religious feelings.
NATO membership prospects
Sweden fears that the Quran-burning incident may once again deteriorate its relations with Ankara, which are especially important considering Turkey has yet to approve Sweden’s NATO membership bid. Talks on the matter have been going on for over a year. Ankara demands, in particular, the extradition of Kurdish activists who face terrorism charges in Turkey but enjoy political asylum in Sweden.
However, Ankara is not the only one on whom Stockholm’s NATO membership depends. According to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, his country is not yet ready to consider the ratification of Sweden’s bid to join the alliance because serious differences of opinion remain between the two countries. He pointed out that in previous years, Swedish politicians had repeatedly brought groundless allegations against Hungary, accusing the country of departing from democracy, and demanded that the European Union’s funds that were due to Budapest be blocked.