The leader of the Danish far-right Hard Line party, Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Holy Quran. He burnt the copy in front of a mosque and Turkish embassy in Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, under police protection. Paludan burned a copy of the Quran in front of a mosque belonging to the Islamic Community Association. The incident took place after the end of Friday prayers in the Dortheavej neighbourhood, for the second time in a week. Paludan tried to provoke the Muslims to leave the Friday prayer by insulting the Prophet Muhammad, but the worshippers acted calmly and moved away from the place. The police took strict security measures in the vicinity of the mosque and closed the street to traffic. Those in charge of the mosque raised the takbeers with loudspeakers. Paludan left the area, escorted by the police, after staying there for about 40 minutes. Shortly after he burned the copy of the Quran in front of a mosque, Paludan burned a copy of the Holy Quran again in front of the Turkish embassy in Copenhagen.
Paludan on Instagram announced that he would burn a copy of the Holy Quran.
Paludan on Instagram announced that he would burn a copy of the Holy Quran in front of a mosque in Denmark; and near the Turkish and Russian embassies, and that the authorities allowed him to do so. The Turkish Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the Danish authorities. Ministry condemned permission to burn a copy of the Holy Quran in front of the Turkish embassy and opposite a mosque in Copenhagen. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Sweden could no longer count on Turkey’s support in its NATO membership file. Paludan founded far-right parties in Sweden and Denmark that failed to win any seats in national, regional, or municipal elections. In the parliamentary elections, his party got only 156 votes nationwide. This abuse caused an uproar in the Arab world, and Turkey considered it a provocative act of hate crimes. Turkey cancelled a visit by Swedish Defense Minister Pal Johnson to Ankara.
