Turkey’s president mentioned “racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia” in European nations had reached “insupportable” ranges.
Leaders of Turkey, Iran and Qatar used the UN Common Meeting on Tuesday to assault Europe, condemning “vile” desecrations of the Quran.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took the platform first to denounce what he referred to as “insupportable” assaults in European nations in opposition to Islam.
An Iraqi refugee in Sweden, Salwan Momika, sparked worldwide outrage in June by burning and trampling on Islam’s holy guide in entrance of Stockholm’s largest mosque on the primary day of Eid al-Adha, a vacation celebrated by Muslims the world over.
The Swedish authorities condemned the act whereas emphasising the significance of free speech on its soil.
Iraq requested Momika’s extradition from the nation final week.
Erdogan has piled stress on Stockholm for months to counter these inflamatory acts, amid a interval of simmering tensions between the 2.
Ankara has pissed off Sweden’s NATO bid, solely lifting its veto in July.
Turkey criticises Stockholm for supposed leniency in the direction of Kurdish activists who’ve taken refuge in its borders.
However observers say Erdogan is utilizing this energy to extort concessions, comparable to deporting his political enemies – one thing that infringes on Sweden’s sovereignty.
Throughout his speech on the UN Common Meeting in New York, Turkey’s primary alleged “racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia” in European nations had reached “insupportable” ranges.
He accused “populist politicians in lots of nations of taking part in with fireplace”, claiming “despicable assaults in Europe in opposition to the Quran… have been darkening the [region’s] future”.
A January report by the Collective for Countering Islamaphobia in Europe (CCIE) discovered a “outstanding rise” of Islamophobia throughout Europe in 2022. This was intrinsically associated to the resurgence of far-right nationalism, it added.
ADVERTISEMENTDenmark offered a invoice on the finish of August to ban Quran burnings.
In a speech slamming the US and West on the whole, conservative Iranian President Ebrahim Raissi mentioned “the fireplace of disrespect wouldn’t destroy divine fact.”
The Islamic Republic chief held up a replica of the Quran a number of instances which he kissed.
Final yr, Raissi presided over the brutal suppression of a protest motion inside Iran.
There have been widespread reviews of violence, torture and rape of demonstrators by the safety providers working beneath his command.
ADVERTISEMENT“The Islamophobia and cultural apartheid that we will observe in Western nations – starting from the desecration of holy books of the Koran to the banning of the hijab in faculties – and lots of different regrettable discriminations, don’t relate to human dignity”, mentioned Raissi.
Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, whose rich Gulf state is an ally of the West and has solely a restricted parliamentary democracy, mentioned “the Quran was too sacred to be desecrated by an fool.”