{"id":3623,"date":"2023-02-02T10:15:26","date_gmt":"2023-02-02T10:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=3623"},"modified":"2025-10-18T08:36:02","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T07:36:02","slug":"sweden-cannot-join-nato-if-quran-burning-allowederdogan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/diplomatic-world\/sweden-cannot-join-nato-if-quran-burning-allowederdogan\/2023\/02\/02\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweden cannot join NATO if Quran burning allowed:Erdogan"},"content":{"rendered":"

ANKARA,<\/span> TURKEY<\/span> (AP)<\/span> –<\/span> Turkish<\/span> President<\/span> Recep<\/span> Tayyip<\/span> Erdogan<\/span> said<\/span> Turkey<\/span> will<\/span> not<\/span> allow<\/span> Sweden<\/span> to<\/span> join<\/span> the<\/span> NATO<\/span> military<\/span> alliance<\/span> as<\/span> long<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> Scandinavian<\/span> country<\/span> allows<\/span> protests<\/span> that<\/span> desecrate<\/span> Islamic<\/span> scriptures.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Turkey,<\/span> which<\/span> had<\/span> already<\/span> withheld<\/span> approval<\/span> for<\/span> Sweden<\/span> and<\/span> Finland<\/span> to<\/span> join<\/span> the<\/span> Western<\/span> Military<\/span> Alliance,<\/span> was<\/span> enraged<\/span> by<\/span> a<\/span> series<\/span> of<\/span> separate<\/span> demonstrations<\/span> in<\/span> Stockholm.<\/span> In<\/span> one<\/span> instance,<\/span> a<\/span> lone<\/span> anti-Muslim<\/span> activist<\/span> burned<\/span> the<\/span> Koran<\/span> outside<\/span> the<\/span> Turkish<\/span> embassy<\/span> and<\/span> a<\/span> statue<\/span> of<\/span> President<\/span> Erdogan<\/span> was<\/span> hung<\/span> in<\/span> an<\/span> unrelated<\/span> protest.<\/span> The<\/span> Turkish<\/span> government<\/span> has<\/span> previously<\/span> called<\/span> on<\/span> Sweden<\/span> and<\/span> Finland<\/span> to<\/span> crack<\/span> down<\/span> on<\/span> exiled<\/span> members<\/span> of<\/span> Kurds<\/span> and<\/span> other<\/span> groups<\/span> Turkey<\/span> considers<\/span> terrorists<\/span> and<\/span> to<\/span> allow<\/span> arms<\/span> shipments<\/span> to<\/span> Turkey.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Turkey<\/span> has<\/span> indefinitely<\/span> postponed<\/span> a<\/span> key<\/span> meeting<\/span> in<\/span> Brussels<\/span> that<\/span> was<\/span> due<\/span> to<\/span> discuss<\/span> her<\/span> two<\/span> Nordic<\/span> countries<\/span> joining<\/span> NATO.<\/span> “Don’t<\/span> worry,<\/span> Sweden!<\/span> As<\/span> long<\/span> as<\/span> you<\/span> allow<\/span> my<\/span> holy<\/span> book,<\/span> the<\/span> Quran,<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> burned<\/span> and<\/span> torn,<\/span> and<\/span> you<\/span> do<\/span> it<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> security<\/span> forces,<\/span> we<\/span> will<\/span> say<\/span> ‘yes’<\/span> to<\/span> your<\/span> NATO<\/span> membership.”<\/span> I<\/span> will<\/span> not<\/span> say,<\/span> \u201dErdogan<\/span> said<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> speech<\/span> at<\/span> his<\/span> verdict<\/span> by<\/span> party<\/span> lawmakers.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Swedish<\/span> government<\/span> officials<\/span> have<\/span> distanced<\/span> themselves<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> protests,<\/span> including<\/span> far-right<\/span> anti-Muslim<\/span> activists<\/span> who<\/span> burned<\/span> copies<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Koran<\/span> in<\/span> Stockholm<\/span> and<\/span> Copenhagen,<\/span> Denmark,<\/span> while<\/span> stressing<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> demonstrations<\/span> are<\/span> protected<\/span> by<\/span> freedom<\/span> of<\/span> expression.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Sweden<\/span> and<\/span> neighboring<\/span> Finland<\/span> abandoned<\/span> decades<\/span> of<\/span> non-alignment<\/span> after<\/span> Russia’s<\/span> invasion<\/span> of<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> and<\/span> applied<\/span> to<\/span> join<\/span> NATO.<\/span> All<\/span> NATO<\/span> members<\/span> except<\/span> Turkey<\/span> and<\/span> Hungary<\/span> have<\/span> ratified<\/span> membership,<\/span> but<\/span> unanimity<\/span> is<\/span> required.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> a<\/span> television<\/span> interview<\/span> on<\/span> Wednesday,<\/span> Erdogan<\/span> suggested<\/span> Sweden<\/span> must<\/span> stop<\/span> the<\/span> Quran-burning<\/span> protests.<\/span> \u201cHate<\/span> crimes<\/span> against<\/span> Muslims<\/span> under<\/span> the<\/span> guise<\/span> of<\/span> freedom<\/span> of<\/span> expression<\/span> are<\/span> unacceptable.<\/span> We<\/span> hope<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> beliefs<\/span> of<\/span> all<\/span> groups<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> respected<\/span> and<\/span> that<\/span> good<\/span> faith<\/span> measures<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> taken<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> fight<\/span> against<\/span> Islamophobia,\u201d<\/span> he<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> Finland,<\/span> which<\/span> has<\/span> seen<\/span> no<\/span> anti-Turkish<\/span> or<\/span> anti-Islamic<\/span> demonstrations,<\/span> infringing<\/span> on<\/span> religious<\/span> peace<\/span> is<\/span> punishable<\/span> by<\/span> law,<\/span> and<\/span> desecrating<\/span> a<\/span> book<\/span> held<\/span> sacred<\/span> by<\/span> a<\/span> religious<\/span> community<\/span> may<\/span> violate<\/span> that<\/span> law.<\/span> High.<\/span> As<\/span> a<\/span> result,<\/span> the<\/span> police<\/span> did<\/span> not<\/span> allow<\/span> the<\/span> Koran<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> burned<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> protest.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>According<\/span> to<\/span> Finnish<\/span> public<\/span> broadcaster<\/span> YLE,<\/span> other<\/span> Nordic<\/span> countries<\/span> do<\/span> not<\/span> have<\/span> similar<\/span> laws.<\/span> The<\/span> YLE<\/span> reported<\/span> Tuesday<\/span> that<\/span> a<\/span> group<\/span> of<\/span> anti-NATO<\/span> protesters<\/span> had<\/span> planned<\/span> to<\/span> burn<\/span> the<\/span> Quran<\/span> in<\/span> Helsinki<\/span> last<\/span> week<\/span> but<\/span> changed<\/span> their<\/span> minds<\/span> after<\/span> police<\/span> intervened<\/span> after<\/span> getting<\/span> wind<\/span> of<\/span> their<\/span> plans<\/span> on<\/span> social<\/span> media.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>If<\/span> NATO<\/span> decides<\/span> to<\/span> treat<\/span> the<\/span> Nordic<\/span> countries’<\/span> accession<\/span> procedures<\/span> separately,<\/span> “(Turkey)<\/span> will,<\/span> of<\/span> course,<\/span> reconsider<\/span> (ratify)<\/span> Finland’s<\/span> accession<\/span> separately<\/span> and<\/span> more<\/span> favorably,”<\/span> Cavsoglu<\/span> said<\/span> at<\/span> Estonia’s<\/span> meeting<\/span> in<\/span> Tallinn.<\/span> said<\/span> at<\/span> a<\/span> joint<\/span> press<\/span> conference<\/span> with<\/span> his<\/span> counterpart.<\/span> He<\/span> did<\/span> not<\/span> name<\/span> the<\/span> period<\/span> after<\/span> him.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Erdogan<\/span> also<\/span> reiterated<\/span> that<\/span> Turkey’s<\/span> view<\/span> of<\/span> Finland’s<\/span> accession<\/span> is<\/span> “positive”.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cHowever,<\/span> I<\/span> fully<\/span> understand<\/span> that<\/span> people<\/span> find<\/span> burning<\/span> scriptures<\/span> offensive<\/span> and<\/span> deeply<\/span> hurtful,\u201d<\/span> he<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“Now<\/span> the<\/span> situation<\/span> must<\/span> calm<\/span> down<\/span> on<\/span> all<\/span> fronts,”<\/span> Birstrom<\/span> said,<\/span> adding<\/span> that<\/span> talks<\/span> with<\/span> Turkey<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> implementation<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> deal<\/span> would<\/span> continue.<\/span> Under<\/span> a<\/span> joint<\/span> memorandum<\/span> of<\/span> understanding<\/span> signed<\/span> last<\/span> year,<\/span> Sweden<\/span> and<\/span> Finland<\/span> agreed<\/span> to<\/span> address<\/span> Turkey’s<\/span> security<\/span> concerns.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> minister<\/span> also<\/span> linked<\/span> President<\/span> Erdogan’s<\/span> remarks<\/span> to<\/span> Turkey’s<\/span> domestic<\/span> politics.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Faced<\/span> with<\/span> tough<\/span> presidential<\/span> elections<\/span> in<\/span> May<\/span> amid<\/span> a<\/span> recession<\/span> and<\/span> high<\/span> inflation,<\/span> President<\/span> Erdogan<\/span> is<\/span> expected<\/span> to<\/span> use<\/span> Sweden’s<\/span> powerful<\/span> arsenal<\/span> to<\/span> garner<\/span> nationalist<\/span> support.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“There<\/span> is<\/span> a<\/span> campaign<\/span> going<\/span> on<\/span> in<\/span> Turkey<\/span> right<\/span> now,<\/span> and<\/span> a<\/span> lot<\/span> is<\/span> being<\/span> said<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> campaign,”<\/span> Birstrom<\/span> said.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ANKARA, TURKEY (AP) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey will not allow Sweden to join the NATO military alliance as long as the Scandinavian country allows protests that desecrate Islamic scriptures. Turkey, which had already withheld approval for Sweden and Finland to join the Western Military Alliance, was enraged by a series of […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[24,280,2480,2482,9925],"tags":[29,79,471,853,868,951],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/erdgan.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3623"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3623"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3626,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3623\/revisions\/3626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}