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World

Turkey says Sweden was complicit in burning of Quran amid tension over NATO membership bid

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CNN
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The Swedish government was complicit in the burning of the Quran at a protest in Stockholm last weekend, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu reportedly said Thursday.

Increased tensions between the two countries come at a time when Sweden is relying on Turkey to support its bid for membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military alliance, of which Turkey is a member, in the light of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Çavuşoğlu blamed the Swedish government after police in the capital Stockholm authorized the demonstration by right-wing politician Rasmus Paludan, and held it responsible for the burning of the Islamic holy book, according to state news agency Anadolu.

Turkish-Swedish relations suffered a major blow last week after the rally outside the city’s Turkish Embassy last Saturday at which anti-immigration politician Paludan set a copy of the Quran alight.

The incident sparked anger in the Turkish capital, Ankara, where protesters took to the streets and burned the Swedish flag outside the Swedish embassy in response.

Speaking Thursday, Çavuşoğlu said the Swedish government had “taken part in this crime by allowing this vile act” to go ahead, according to Anadolu.

The foreign minister described the incident as a “racist attack” that had nothing to do with freedom of thought, the agency said.

Çavuşoğlu advised Sweden to “demine” its path to NATO membership or risk ruining its chance by “stepping on those mines,” Anadolu reported.

Earlier this week, Ankara called for a February meeting between Turkey, Sweden and Finland to be postponed, according to Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber, which cited unnamed diplomatic sources.

Finland is also applying to join NATO, along with its Nordic neighbor, after Moscow’s assault on Ukraine sparked renewed security concern across the region.

Anadolu reported Thursday that the meeting around Sweden and Finland’s NATO applications was postponed in light of the current “unhealthy political environment.”

The three countries have met in the past under the “trilateral memorandum” to discuss Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership requests.

Ankara also canceled Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson’s planned trip to Turkey in the wake of the incident.

Sweden and Finland applied last year to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but all 30 member states, including Turkey, must approve their bids.

Turkey has said Sweden in particular must first take a clearer stance against what it sees as terrorists, mainly Kurdish militants and a group it blames for a 2016 coup attempt.

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World

Turkish anger after Quran burning, Kurd protests in Sweden | Islamophobia News

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Turkey denounced Sweden after protests in front of its embassy in Stockholm including the burning of a Quran by far-right supporters and a separate demonstration by Kurdish activists.

Ankara said on Saturday it was cancelling a visit by Sweden’s defence minister aimed at overcoming Turkey’s objections to its NATO membership. Sweden needs Turkey’s backing to gain entry to the military alliance as fears in Europe grow after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Quran burning was carried out by Rasmus Paludan, leader of Danish far-right political party Hard Line. In April last year, Paludan’s announcement of a Quran burning “tour” during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan sparked riots across Sweden.

Surrounded by police, Paludan set fire to the holy book with a lighter following a long diatribe of almost an hour, in which he attacked Islam and immigration in Sweden. About 100 people gathered nearby for a peaceful counterdemonstration.

“If you don’t think there should be freedom of expression, you have to live somewhere else,” he said.

The Turkish foreign ministry responded immediately in a statement.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the vile attack on our holy book… Permitting this anti-Islam act, which targets Muslims and insults our sacred values, under the guise of freedom of expression is completely unacceptable,” the ministry said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu vented fury at Swedish authorities’ failure to ban the protest. “It’s a racist action, it’s not about freedom of expression,” he said.

Several Arab countries – including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait – also denounced the Quran-burning.

“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.

A small group gathered outside the Swedish embassy in Ankara to protest the Quran-burning. A protest was also scheduled to take place in Istanbul on Saturday evening.

‘Clear crime of hatred’

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom called the Islamophobic provocations “appalling”.

“Sweden has a far-reaching freedom of expression, but it does not imply that the Swedish Government, or myself, support the opinions expressed,” Billstrom said on Twitter.

A separate protest took place in the city supporting Kurds and against Sweden’s bid to join NATO. A group of pro-Turkish demonstrators also held a rally outside the embassy. All three events had police permits.

Demonstrators waved flags of various Kurdish groups, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Turkey. The PKK is considered a terrorist group in Turkey, the European Union, and the United States, but its symbols are not banned in Sweden.

Turkey earlier was angered by Sweden’s green light for the protest in front of its embassy amid ongoing tensions following Ankara’s objections to Sweden’s bid to join the NATO military alliance.

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar denounced Sweden’s government for failing to take measures against “disgusting” anti-Turkish protests on its soil. Akar said the scheduled January 27 visit by his Swedish counterpart Pål Jonson no longer held “any importance or point”.

Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin condemned the demonstration as a “clear crime of hatred”.

“Allowing this action despite all our warnings is encouraging hate crimes and Islamophobia,” he tweeted. “The attack on sacred values is not freedom but modern barbarism.”

Billström told TT news agency on Friday that Sweden respects freedom of speech.

‘Extremists and loonies’

Carl Bildt, a former prime minister of Sweden, told Al Jazeera there was still progress being made on the issue of Turkey’s approval for Sweden’s ascension into NATO despite the tensions.

“There are extremists and loonies running around trying to sabotage the whole process. They should not be given [importance] if the authorities in Ankara are truly interested in coming to an agreement,” Bildt said.

Turkey summoned the Swedish ambassador on Friday to condemn the protests, saying rallies by pro-Kurdish groups linked to the PKK would be a violation of the joint memorandum signed between Turkey, Sweden and Finland that prevented a Turkish veto for the Nordic countries’ NATO accession in June.

Sweden and neighbouring Finland dropped decades of military non-alignment last year when they applied to join the Western defence alliance in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Turkey has so far refused to approve their bids, which need sign-off by all member states, and tied its favourable vote to Swedish steps to extradite people it accuses of terrorism or of having played a part in the 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey argues that Sweden is not doing enough to crack down on Kurdish groups that Ankara views as “terrorists”.

Sweden’s ambassador to Turkey was summoned last week after a video posted by a Kurdish group in Stockholm that depicted an effigy of Erdogan swinging by his legs from a rope.

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World

Sweden Quran burnings: Dozens injured in riots

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Some 26 police and 14 members of the public were injured, the spokesperson said, adding that police had arrested 26 individuals, including four minors, in Linköping and Norrköping where the violence began on Friday. There would be “more to come” as police analyze footage, the spokesperson added.

The riots erupted in several of Sweden’s southern cities after burnings of the Quran by Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party.

Paludan planned and carried out the anti-Muslim demonstration, posting a picture of himself on social media with a burning Quran and declared intentions of burning more.

Police “don’t know for sure yet” if the riots began as a protest to the anti-Muslim rally led by Paludan, the spokesperson said, adding that the police were “looking into why and who.” CNN has reached out to Stram Kurs for comment.

In the city of Norrköping, three people needed medical attention after being hit by police bullets during clashes between police and protesters.

“Three people seem to have been hit by ricochets and are now being cared for in hospital. All three injured are arrested on suspicion of crime,” police said in an online statement, adding none of the injuries were life-threatening.

The violence spread south to the city of Malmö on Saturday and continued throughout Sunday, the spokesperson said.

Police used weapons against the rioters, the spokesperson said, but would not confirm local media reports that tear gas was used. Rioters can be seen hurling objects at police in video filmed by the Reuters news agency Sunday, which also shows vehicles ablaze.

Police believe that people with links to criminal gangs took advantage of the situation, according to the spokesperson.

Officers saw no further unrest on Monday but will continue to be present in Norrköping, they added.

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has also condemned the violence.

Arab countries condemn Quran burning

Arab countries with Muslim majority populations have condemned the burnings of the Quran, as Saudi Arabia called Paludan’s actions a “deliberate abuse of the Holy Qur’an.”

In a statement published on their state news agency SPA on Sunday, the kingdom called the burnings “provocations and incitement against Muslims by some extremists in Sweden” and stressed “the importance of concerted efforts to spread the values of dialogue, tolerance and coexistence, reject hatred, extremism and exclusion, and prevent abuse of all religions and sanctities.”

In Iraq, the government urged the Swedish government to stop “provocative” actions.

“[The act] was considered a provocation to the feelings of Muslims and extremely offensive to their sanctities…this matter has serious repercussions on the relations between Sweden and Muslims in general,” a statement by the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday.

In a tweet, the Emirati diplomatic adviser to the president, Anwar Gargash, rejected the “hatred” and “intolerance” against Islam.

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs “condemned the intentional abuse of the Holy Qur’an” by the far-right, saying it is “among the extreme right-wing practices that incite against immigrants in general and Muslims in particular.”

Kuwait “expressed its utter condemnation and disgust towards the acts of desecration perpetrated by Swedish extremists against the Holy Quran,” the state news agency KUNA said.

And Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the action “contradicts all religious values and principles, human rights principles and basic freedoms, and fuels feelings of hatred and violence and threatens peaceful coexistence.”

Additional reporting from Reuters.

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Technology

Call of Duty: Vanguard removes Quran pages after critics call the depiction disrespectful

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The pages from Islam’s holy book were seen scattered on the floor. In Islam, the Quran is considered sacred and cannot be placed on the floor or on any dirty surface.

Players who recognized the religious text posted photos of the scene on Twitter, with one gamer demanding the game’s developers and publishers “remove the pages immediately.”

“Call of Duty is made for everyone. There was insensitive content to the Muslim community mistakenly included last week, and has since been removed from the game,” an Activision spokesperson said in a statement to CNN on Friday.

“It should never have appeared as it did in game. We deeply apologize. We are taking immediate steps internally to address the situation to prevent such occurrences in the future.”

Activision Blizzard publishes Call of Duty, one of the best-selling game franchises in the United States for over a decade.
“Sometimes the whole point of a diverse team isn’t just for gender balance, sometimes it’s at least one person pointing out hey maybe putting an entire cultures holy scriptures onto the floor to be stepped as you kill people is super insensitive?” Anisa Sanusi, a Muslim video game developer based in London, wrote on Twitter. “Leave the Quran out of it.”
In Call of Duty: Vanguard, which is set in World War II, players “experience influential battles” of the war as they fight in Europe, the Pacific and North Africa, according to the game’s website.
The pages of the Quran appear during zombie mode during the Der Anfang campaign, a survival mode in the game in which players face a wave of zombie soldiers, according to players who posted the screenshots on social media.

“I understand the effort it takes to make a video game world feel real and believable, however for a piece of set dressing, they could have literally used any other blurb of writing,” Sanusi told CNN. “There was absolutely no reason to bring in the Quran into this.”

Sanusi, 31, said she found the game’s inclusion of the Quran “disrespectful.”

“There is a bare-level minimum of respect expected when it comes to how you treat and portray a religion with 2 billion followers on the planet,” she said.

“When dealing with portraying a culture that is not your own, it’s important to have sensitivity measures to avoid instances of cultural appropriation, or in this case, an unintentionally offensive outcome.”

This is not the first time Call of Duty has attracted negative criticism from Muslim players for insensitive content.

In 2012, developers of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 had to remove a multiplayer map that showed Islamic religious texts including the word “Allah,” which is Arabic for God, in a bathroom, according to Fortune.

Rami Ismail, a Muslim Dutch-Egyptian game developer, said he is “annoyed and exhausted” with the constant misrepresentation of Islam in the gaming industry.

“Games have used Muslim lands as war zones and Muslim people as targets for decades — it is tiring to see additional disrespect towards our people,” Ismail told CNN. “Things like this just really shouldn’t happen.”



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