The burning of the Quran during a protest at a mosque outside Sweden's Stockholm has been condemned by Turkey as 'vile', and could further delay the country's bid to join North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on which the Turkish greenlight is long awaited. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, "I condemn the vile protest in Sweden against our holy book on the first day of the blessed Eid al-Adha," adding that it was “unacceptable to allow anti-Islam protests in the name of freedom of expression”.


This came after the Swedish police allowed the protest, attended by about 200 people on Wednesday, ahead of Eid al-Adha Muslim , saying security risks “were not of a nature to justify, under current laws, a decision to reject the request”, the Guardian reported.


The protest was staged by a single person, Salwan Momika, who came to Sweden five years ago from Iraq. He burnt the Quran in the Swedish capital. He told CNN that he staged the protest after a legal battle of three months.



Salwan Momika protests outside a mosque in Stockholm


He told CNN, "This book should be banned in the world because of the danger it causes to democracy, ethics, human values, human rights, and women’s rights. It just doesn’t work in this time and age.”


Turkish government’s Director of Communicaitons Fahrettin Altun tweeted, "We are sick and tired of enabling of Islamophobia and continued instances of hatred for our religion on the part of European authorities especially in Sweden," adding that "those who seek to become our allies in NATO, cannot tolerate or enable destructive behaviors of Islamophobic and xenophobic terrorists."


Urging for swift action, he said, "Swedish authorities must take swift action and take a clear stance against terrorism in all of its forms. They cannot hide behind the excuse of freedom of expression and freedom of speech."


In January this year, Sweden faced international condemnation after far-right politician Rasmus Paludan set fire to a copy of the Quran in front of Turkey's embassy in Stockholm. The act raised Sweden's tensions with Turkey as the Nordic country looked for support for its NATO bid.