Turkish Foreign Ministry summons the Norwegian envoy on the plan to burn the Koran

On Thursday, the Foreign Ministry summoned the Norwegian ambassador to Ankara. A statement from the ministry said that the envoy was summoned as soon as he learned that the burning of the Qur’an would take place in the Scandinavian country on Friday.

Diplomatic sources told Anadolu Agency, “It was assured to the ambassador that we strongly condemn Norway’s approach not to prevent the planned provocative act, which is clearly a hate crime, and this position is unacceptable and we expect this act not to be allowed.” AA).

And the demonstrations of burning the Koran organized by the far-right Danish politician Rasmus Paludan in Sweden and Denmark have sparked global protests by Muslims in recent weeks. Norway is no stranger to such actions. Lars Thorsen, a known anti-Muslim extremist, burned a copy of the Koran in the country last year. Although Turkey has repeatedly condemned such actions, Paludan’s provocation came at a time when Turkey and Sweden were tense over the latter’s bid to join NATO which should be ratified by Ankara. Paludan’s act was apparently in response to Turkey’s opposition to Sweden’s attempt to join NATO without refraining from harboring terrorists, namely from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the Gulen terrorist group, as the Danish politician chose a place outside the Turkish embassy to burn the Qur’an.