Sweden

In Istanbul, nationalist groups protested outside the Swedish consulate on Saturday to read the Koran and demand that Sweden be prevented from ever joining Nato ...

For a full comparison of Standard and Premium Digital, click here. You'll enjoy access to several newsletters including FirstFT, a daily newsletter with the global stories you need to know as well as Editor's Choice, a weekly newsletter featuring the editor's favourite stories. Access our essential offering with over 600 journalists in 50+ countries covering markets, politics, business, tech and more.

The burning of a copy of the Quran in Stockholm, Sweden heightened tensions with Turkey at a time when the Nordic country needs Ankara's backing.

Sweden says it has fulfilled its part of the memorandum but Turkey is demanding more, including the extradition of 130 people it deems to be terrorists. Paludan's action of burning the holy book of Islam has drawn international condemnation and increased tensions between Sweden and Turkey. Leader of the Danish right-wing political party Stram Kurs, Rasmus Paludan, burns a copy of the Quran during an oration outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, January 21, 2023. A group of pro-Turkish demonstrators also held a rally outside the embassy. A separate protest took place in the city supporting Kurds and against Sweden's bid to join NATO. Its statement was issued after an anti-immigrant politician from the far-right fringe burned a copy of the Quran near the Turkish Embassy.

A Koran burns in Stockholm and a Swedish flag burns in Istanbul as Sweden's bid to join NATO leads to widespread anger.

The necessary things needed to be done, measures should have been taken," Akar said, according to a statement by Turkish Defense Ministry. The Koran-burning was carried out by Rasmus Paludan, leader of Danish far-right political party Hard Line. Helsinki and Stockholm signed a three-way deal with Ankara in response last year aimed at overcoming its objections. Several Muslim-majority countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait hit out at the Koran-burning. "Permitting this anti-Islam act, which targets Muslims and insults our sacred values, under the guise of freedom of expression is completely unacceptable." Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said that Islamophobic actions were appalling.

Ankara cancels planned meeting of defense ministers from the two countries. Sweden Grants Permission For Koran Burning Outside Turkish Embassy Amid NATO Bid.

[TV interview](https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/sweden-foreign-minister-nato-application-1.6721367) on Sunday, Billström said the issues with Turkey are nearly resolved. “We are now very close to the moment in time when it is time for the Turkish parliament to start the ratification process,” Billström said in the CBC News interview. “We condemn in the strongest possible terms the vile attack on our holy book,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The demonstration was carried out by a Swedish far-right politician, Rasmus Paludan, in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm yesterday.

Connection is secure Checking if the site connection is secure Occasionally, you may see this page while the site ensures that the connection is secure.

SEPANG: The Islamophobic act that occurred in Stockholm, Sweden, is among the issues to be discussed during Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's ...

Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir (above) will discuss the recent burning of the Quran in Sweden with his counterpart in Brunei during Prime Minister Anwar ...

The two-day visit to Brunei is Anwar’s second official visit since taking office on November 24. Anwar condemned strongly the Islamophobic act and urged the Swedish government to act against the perpetrators as well as address the alarming rise of Islamophobia in the country. THE Islamophobic act that occurred in Stockholm, Sweden is among the issues to be discussed during Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s official visit to Brunei tomorrow.

ANKARA: Sweden's bid for NATO membership is facing a dead end, according to analysts. A protest by Swedish-Danish right-wing extremist leader Rasmus Paludan ...

Sweden has pledged to distance itself from all Kurdish groups considered terrorists by Turkiye in order to gain Ankara’s support for its NATO bid. Sweden has made significant progress on all items in the trilateral memorandum signed in June,” Paul Levin, director at Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies, told Arab News. Following the protest, Ankara postponed the planned visit of Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson on Jan. “Saudi Arabia calls for spreading the values of dialogue, tolerance, and coexistence, and rejects hatred and extremism,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement. As part of a long-running diplomatic tussle, Turkiye initially blocked Sweden’s NATO accession in order to push Stockholm toward meeting some political demands, such as the extradition of several persons sought by Turkish authorities on terrorism charges. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Qur’an burning, describing it as a “vile act,” and criticized the Swedish government’s decision to allow the protest as “completely unacceptable.”

The chance of Turkey's ratification of Sweden's NATO membership appears thin after the protests following the Quran-burning incident in the Scandinavian ...

Turkey is extremely important as a NATO member as the bloc requires unanimous approval from all existing member states to ratify any accession of other non-NATO members into it. The chance of Turkey's ratification of Sweden's NATO membership appears thin after the protests following the Quran-burning incident in the Scandinavian nation. However, Turkey holds the key.

Sweden's bid for NATO membership faces a dead end after a rally by the far right burns the Quran.

[officially applied](/news/2022/5/18/finland-and-sweden-submit-applications-to-join-nato) to join the world’s biggest military alliance. But Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said allowing the protest was “encouraging hate crimes and Islamophobia”. [denounced the permission granted](/news/2023/1/21/turkey-cancels-swedish-minister-visit-over-right-wing-protest) to Rasmus Paludan, a right-wing Swedish-Danish politician, to stage a protest in front of its embassy in the Swedish capital. [confirmed Turkey’s opposition](/news/2022/5/17/turkey-confirms-opposition-to-nato-membership-for-sweden-finland) to NATO membership for Finland and Sweden, shooting down a proposal by the Nordic countries to send delegations to Ankara to address the matter. [it is not possible for Ankara to support Sweden and Finland](/news/2022/5/13/erdogan-says-turkey-opposed-to-finland-sweden-nato-membership) joining the transatlantic military alliance, signalling a possible hurdle to the two countries’ [plans to join](/news/2022/4/15/why-finland-and-sweden-will-likely-join-nato) the organisation. [Sweden says cannot fulfil Turkey’s demands for NATO application](/news/2023/1/8/sweden-cannot-fulfil-turkeys-demands-for-nato-application-pm?traffic_source=KeepReading) [Sweden still has requirements to meet to join NATO: Turkey](/news/2022/12/22/sweden-still-has-requirements-to-meet-to-join-nato-turkey?traffic_source=KeepReading) [Sweden agrees to extradite man to Turkey in wake of NATO deal](/news/2022/8/11/sweden-agrees-to-extradite-man-to-turkey-in-wake-of-nato-deal?traffic_source=KeepReading)

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno has strongly condemned the act of burning the Quran by extremist Swedish-Danish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan outside of the ...

“(Umno’s Council of Ulama also) calls on scholars and Muslims to continue to pray that the truth of Islam will continue to shine throughout the world and provide security to its followers wherever they are,“ he added. Meanwhile, Umno Ulama Council condemned Paludan’s act in the strongest terms, describing it as extreme and Islamophobic as well as an insult to Islam. “Paludan has also significantly abused the right to freedom of expression and in so doing, undermines the spirit of peaceful coexistence in a multi-religious world.

Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) head Ali Erbaş warns of growing anti-Islam sentiment in Europe following a public Quran burning incident in...

[Yahoo](https://policies.yahoo.com/us/en/yahoo/privacy/index.htm) [Semasio](https://www.semasio.com/privacy) [Tapad](https://www.tapad.com/privacy) [Twitter Inc.](https://twitter.com/en/privacy) [Smart](https://smartadserver.com/corporate-privacy-policy/) [Simpli.fi](https://www.simpli.fi/site-privacy-policy2/) [Simpli.fi](https://simpli.fi/site-privacy-policy/) [Google](https://policies.google.com/privacy) [Criteo](https://www.criteo.com/privacy/corporate-privacy-policy/) [Bluekai.com](http://www.oracle.com/us/legal/privacy/) [Beeswax](https://www.beeswax.com/cookies/) [Oracle](https://www.oracle.com/legal/privacy/addthis-privacy-policy.html)

At the rate things are going in Stockholm, Ankara will never ratify Sweden's application to join NATO, a top official from Türkiye's ruling Justice...

[Yahoo](https://policies.yahoo.com/us/en/yahoo/privacy/index.htm) [Semasio](https://www.semasio.com/privacy) [Tapad](https://www.tapad.com/privacy) [Twitter Inc.](https://twitter.com/en/privacy) [Smart](https://smartadserver.com/corporate-privacy-policy/) [Simpli.fi](https://www.simpli.fi/site-privacy-policy2/) [Simpli.fi](https://simpli.fi/site-privacy-policy/) [Google](https://policies.google.com/privacy) [Criteo](https://www.criteo.com/privacy/corporate-privacy-policy/) [Bluekai.com](http://www.oracle.com/us/legal/privacy/) [Beeswax](https://www.beeswax.com/cookies/) [Oracle](https://www.oracle.com/legal/privacy/addthis-privacy-policy.html)

Malaysian ambassador Nur Ashikin Mohd Taib speaks to The Local about the things she's found surprising about life in Sweden.

I didn’t think that that would be something that the Swedes would do, because the stereotype of Swedes is that people are distant and cold. But the fika culture is a good way of socialising in the office and with friends. “I think that’s something Sweden is very much a leader in. We’ve had a lot of trade exchanges over the years, but not as much as we would like to,” she says. The Malaysian community in Sweden is small, but close-knit. So Sweden is very much present in Malaysia,” says Taib.

Türkiye cannot stay silent against the anti-İslam and anti-Türkiye protests that were held in Stockholm over the weekend, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has ...

Out of 30 members only Türkiye and Hungary have not yet ratified their accession to the alliance. They ask support for the defense and security of their country, but they reject our demands on the fight against terror.” If they continue like this, then our stance towards their membership to NATO is obvious,” Akar said at an online address to the commanders of different units across the country on Jan.

KUALA LUMPUR: Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (Yadim) today expressed its full support to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in condemning the r...

“The burning of a copy of the holy book of Islam is a clear form of Islamophobia, but equally reprehensible, irresponsible and immoral are actions at the other extreme end, for example, people shouting non-existent Islamophobia to create fear and hatred that Islam is under threat of survival,” he said in a statement. Tuan Kamarul said the message of mercy, compassion and courteousness that Islam propagates through the teaching of the Quran must be upheld profoundly and any attempt to lure hatred and violence under the false pretext of freedom and human rights must not be condoned. “Besides expressing disapproval officially through the existing diplomatic channel, Yadim believes that discourse on Islam and the Quran must be intensified beyond the Muslim realm,” he said in a statement today.

Alliance of Civilizations and several Muslim-majority countries denounce stunt by Danish far-right party leader.

“Allowing this hateful act that insults Islamic sanctities and values is completely unacceptable,” Somalia’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday. In Bangladesh, people also demonstrated against the incident. Moratinos, who heads a UN agency that describes itself as “devoted to promoting understanding across diverse communities”, said he was concerned about the rise in “discrimination, intolerance and violence …

Türkiye expects Sweden and Finland to prove the power of their states and fulfill their commitments under the tripartite NATO deal, the country's...

[Yahoo](https://policies.yahoo.com/us/en/yahoo/privacy/index.htm) [Semasio](https://www.semasio.com/privacy) [Tapad](https://www.tapad.com/privacy) [Twitter Inc.](https://twitter.com/en/privacy) [Smart](https://smartadserver.com/corporate-privacy-policy/) [Simpli.fi](https://www.simpli.fi/site-privacy-policy2/) [Simpli.fi](https://simpli.fi/site-privacy-policy/) [Google](https://policies.google.com/privacy) [Criteo](https://www.criteo.com/privacy/corporate-privacy-policy/) [Bluekai.com](http://www.oracle.com/us/legal/privacy/) [Beeswax](https://www.beeswax.com/cookies/) [Oracle](https://www.oracle.com/legal/privacy/addthis-privacy-policy.html)

Turkey and Hungary are the only Nato members not to have ratified the Nordic neighbours' historic decision to break their tradition of military ...

And that is why these inappropriate acts are not automatically illegal." Stoltenberg, who last spring was talking of a fast-track membership process of just a few weeks, added in the interview that the Swedish government had condemned the demonstration "in very clear terms". In an interview with German title Die Welt, he said that "freedom of expression, freedom of opinion is a precious commodity, in Sweden and in all other Nato countries. "Sweden should not expect support from us for Nato," Erdogan said in his first official response to the act by an anti-Islam politician during a protest on Saturday that was approved by the Swedish police despite Turkey's objections. Erdogan has already set out a series of tough conditions that include a demand for Sweden to extradite dozens of mostly Kurdish suspects that Ankara either accuses of "terrorism" or of involvement in a failed 2016 coup. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Sweden on Monday that it should not expect his backing to join Nato following the burning of the Quran outside Ankara's embassy in Stockholm.

Sweden can no longer hope to obtain Turkey's support for its Nato membership bid following the weekend protest near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm ...

Whether there might be leeway for the Turkish leader to relent and agree to Turkey ratifying the Nato bid of Sweden—a bid that cannot progress if even a sole member of Nato objects to the proposed accession—either before or after the elections is now the question. The previous weekend, Ankara was left furious by an incident in which a Kurdish group was Ahead of the polls, there can be little expectation of a softening in most areas of Erdogan’s foreign policy as he seeks to consolidate his core vote.

Sweden should not expect Turkey to back its Nato membership bid, Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday, days after a copy of the Quran was burned ...

As Turkey is already a Nato member, it can block another country from joining, and has made several demands of Sweden already. A Swedish minister branded the stunt as "deplorable", but Turkey said the condemnation was not enough. Earlier this month, the Swedish prime minister said Kurdish protesters in Stockholm who hung an effigy of Turkey's president from a lamppost were trying to sabotage Sweden's Nato application. "No one has the right to humiliate the saints," said Mr Erdogan in his televised remarks on Monday. "Sweden has a far-reaching freedom of expression, but it does not imply that the Swedish government, or myself, support the opinions expressed," Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said on Saturday. Nato's secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said that freedom of expression was a "precious commodity" in Nato countries, and that these acts, while inappropriate, were not "automatically illegal".

"Umno condemns in the strongest possible terms the act of burning the Holy Quran by an extremist Danish-Swedish politician, Rasmus Paludan, in front of the ...

WASHINGTON, Jan 24 — The United States said Monday that a far-right activist's “repugnant” burning of the Koran may have been sabotage against unity in Nato ...

Price defended the stance of Sweden, saying that it upholds “freedom of association” and that an act “can be lawful and awful at the same time.” He “may have deliberately sought to have an impact on the ongoing discussion regarding the accession of Sweden and Finland to Nato,” Price said. “It’s repugnant,” he said, also calling the incident “disgusting” and “vile.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed protests in Stockholm by an anti-Islam activist who burned the Quran.

Swedish officials have stressed that freedom of expression is guaranteed by the Swedish Constitution and gives people extensive rights to express their views publicly, though incitement to violence or hate speech isn't allowed. Continued protests are infuriating Ankara who has said Sweden must address Turkey's security concerns and demands for the Turkish parliament to ratify their NATO request. That's not happening," Erdogan said, referring to Sweden and Finland's accession bids for the military alliance.

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Sweden on Monday that it should not expect his backing to join NATO following the burning of t...

And that is why these inappropriate acts are not automatically illegal.” Stoltenberg, who last spring was talking of a fast-track membership process of just a few weeks, added in the interview that the Swedish government had condemned the demonstration “in very clear terms”. In an interview with German title Die Welt, he said that “freedom of expression, freedom of opinion is a precious commodity, in Sweden and in all other NATO countries. “Sweden should not expect support from us for NATO,“ Erdogan said in his first official response to the act by an anti-Islam politician during a protest on Saturday that was approved by the Swedish police despite Turkey’s objections. Erdogan has already set out a series of tough conditions that include a demand for Sweden to extradite dozens of mostly Kurdish suspects that Ankara either accuses of “terrorism” or of involvement in a failed 2016 coup. ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Sweden on Monday that it should not expect his backing to join NATO following the burning of the Quran outside Ankara's embassy in Stockholm.