(Reuters) Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Saturday urged Denmark to take urgent action to prevent burnings of the Koran, a Turkish foreign ministry source said. In a phone call with his Danish counterpart Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Fidan condemned the “continuous vile […]
(Reuters) The Swedish migration agency said late on Friday it is re-examining the residency permit of an Iraqi refugee who is behind several Koran desecrations in Stockholm in recent weeks, which have upset Muslims across the world. The man burnt a copy […]
(AP) Sweden’s prime minister said Thursday that police have received several permit applications for the burning of religious texts in the country next week, and that he fears this may escalate tensions further with the Muslim world. In his first public comments […]
(AFP) Sweden’s government on Thursday ordered 15 government agencies to strengthen the country’s ability to prevent terrorism, in response to a worsened security situation following protests involving desecration of the Koran. Tensions have flared between Sweden and several Middle Eastern nations after […]
(Local) Sweden’s opposition has called for the chair of the parliament’s foreign policy committee to resign after he called the Prophet Mohammed a “warlord, mass-murderer, slave trader and bandit” in a tweet. Richard Jomshof, whose strong views on Islam made him a […]
(Reuters) Sweden is the target of a disinformation campaign by “Russia-backed actors” intended to hurt the image of the NATO-candidate country by implying it supported recent burnings of the Koran, its minister for civil defence said on Wednesday. Sweden’s bid to join […]
(AP) Sweden’s security situation has deteriorated after recent Quran burnings in the country and protests in the Muslim world, both of which have negatively impacted the Nordic nation’s image, its domestic security service said Wednesday. The Swedish Security Service said the burning […]
(Euronews) Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, has spoken up against “any form of incitement to religious hatred and intolerance.” In a short statement released on Wednesday morning, Borrell expressed his unambiguous condemnation of the recent incidents in Sweden and Denmark […]
(Politico) A group of far-right protesters set fire to copies of the Quran in Copenhagen on Tuesday in front of the Egyptian and Turkish embassies in an anti-Islam demonstration, following a string of Quran burnings in Denmark and Sweden in the past […]
(Local) Sweden’s Social Democrat opposition has demanded the government call an emergency parliamentary meeting over the ongoing Quran-burning protests. “We are calling for the foreign policy committee to be called to an extra meeting as soon as possible as a result of […]
(European Conservative) Approximately 200 Muslim protestors gathered outside the European Parliament Wednesday, July 19th, as Islamic groups in Brussels rallied against the controversial burning of the Quran in Sweden. Shouts of “Allahu Akbar” were heard right outside the Parliament as an almost […]
(Local) Police in Sweden have received yet another application to hold a Quran-burning protest, with the event this time to be held outside the Iranian embassy in Stockholm. The request has come from a 31-year-old man, who intends to set fire [to] […]
(AFP) As riots raged around France earlier this month, infrastructure for next year’s Paris Olympics risked becoming engulfed in the violence, adding a fresh worry for organisers who face a head-spinning list of security challenges one year before the Games start. Surveillance […]
(Anadolu) Members of an Islamophobic group in Denmark burned a copy of the Holy Quran on Friday. The ultranationalist group called Danske Patrioter burned the holy book in front of Iraq’s Embassy in Copenhagen. They also carried a banner with insulting slogans […]
(Reuters) There is limited political will in Sweden to ban Koran burnings that have upset large parts of the Muslim world and it would be complicated to do even if there were backing for such a move, experts and politicians said on […]
(AFP) In less than a month, Sweden-based Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika has twice stoked international outrage by desecrating the Koran at Stockholm protests. Despite his previous low profile, his past has been far from a quiet affair. In late June, the 37-year-old […]
(AP) A recent string of public desecrations of the Quran by a handful of anti-Islam activists in Sweden has sparked an angry reaction in Muslim countries and raised questions — including in Sweden — about why such acts are allowed. In the […]
(Local) A man stomped on a copy of the Quran but did not actually set fire to it at a protest in Stockholm, despite having pledged to do so. Here’s what happened — and what could happen next. Salwan Momika, the man […]
(Anadolu) A Turkish court issued an arrest warrant for Rasmus Paludan, a far-right Danish leader, following his controversial act of burning a copy of the Quran in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm. The incident, which took place on Jan. 21, […]
(AFP) Swedish police said Wednesday they had granted a permit for a protest outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, with media reporting the organisers planned to burn the Muslim holy book. The protest, scheduled for Thursday, comes just weeks after a man […]
(European Conservative) Over 2,300 people have been arrested in connection with the multiple-day riots that shook France earlier this month following the fatal shooting of a teen named Nahel in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. Many have speculated about a connection between […]
(Times of Israel) A Muslim activist who had received permission to burn a Torah and a Bible outside the Israeli embassy in Sweden on Saturday said he was backing off from the move, adding that he only wanted to draw attention to […]
(AFP) Swedish police on Friday said they had granted a permit for a protest which would include burning holy texts outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, sparking condemnation from Israel and Jewish organisations. The controversial protest, scheduled for Saturday, comes weeks after […]
(National-UAE) The EU’s co-ordinator on combating anti-Muslim hatred told the National on Thursday that the bloc sees Quran-burning protests as having “no place in Europe” but said it was up to individual countries whether to ban them. Marion Lalisse said EU states […]
(Reuters) The United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday approved a disputed resolution on religious hatred in the wake of the burning of a Koran in Sweden, prompting concern by Western states who say it challenges long-held practices in rights protection. The […]
(AP) Widespread riots in France sparked by the police killing of a teenager with North African roots have revealed the depth of discontent roiling poor neighborhoods — and given a new platform to the increasingly emboldened far right. The far right’s anti-immigration […]
(AP) The U.N. human rights chief used a special debate on Tuesday about burnings of the Quran in Sweden and other European countries to tread a fine line between freedom of expression and respect for religious beliefs, while broadening his call for […]
(Anadolu) A Quran was burned and thrown in front of a mosque in southwestern Germany, the Turkish-Muslim umbrella group DITIB said on Monday. The incident happened in front of the Mimar Sinan Mosque in the town of Maulbronn, located in the state […]
(AFP) In her first speech in parliament as France’s riots ebbed this week, far-right leader Marine Le Pen accused the government of turning the country into a “hell” that she had foreseen. “The reality is that you didn’t want to hear any […]
(Local) A majority of Swedes believe it should be illegal to burn the Quran or the holy books of other religions, like the Bible or Torah, in public, according to a new survey. Over half of Swedes, 53 percent, agreed that burning […]
(Reuters) The Swedish government is examining whether it could change the law to stop people setting the Koran on fire in public, as recent burnings of the Muslim holy book have damaged Sweden’s security, Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer told Aftonbladet paper on […]
(AP) A Quran burning and a string of requests to approve protests involving the destruction of more holy books have left Sweden torn between its commitment to free speech and its respect for religious minorities. The clash of fundamental principles has complicated […]
(Anadolu) A leading Muslim group in the US urged President Joe Biden and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to condemn the Quran burning in Sweden. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said it encouraged Biden and Kristersson “to clearly disavow anti-Muslim bigotry […]
(AFP) One of the most senior figures in France’s mainstream right-wing party was accused of “crass racism” on Wednesday after claiming that immigrant-origin people who took part in riots over the past week had undergone “a regression to their ethnic roots.” Bruno […]
(AP) Turkey’s foreign minister said Tuesday that Swedish authorities’ failure to prevent Quran-burning protests in their country is raising security concerns and questions about Sweden’s credentials for possible NATO membership. But Hakan Fidan said Turkey would still approve Sweden’s membership in the […]
(AFP) A Dutch man will appear in court on insult charges after tearing up a Koran outside parliament and likening Islam’s holy book to Hitler’s “Mein Kampf,” prosecutors said Tuesday. Edwin Wagensveld, 54, who heads the Netherlands’s chapter of the German anti-Islam […]
(Euractiv) The leader of the far-right party VOX, Santiago Abascal, indirectly accused radical Muslims living in the European Union of fuelling and masterminding recent rioting and looting in France. The French authorities are still on alert in Paris, although the sixth night […]
(AFP) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday blamed France’s nationwide riots on “institutional racism” and the country’s colonial past. The French government has been battling riots and looting in Paris and across the country since 17-year-old Nahel M. — a French […]
(JNS) Israel is closely monitoring and deeply concerned about “waves of antisemitism sweeping over France,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting. “In recent days, we have witnessed criminal assaults against Jewish targets. We strongly condemn these attacks […]
(AFP) Sweden’s government on Sunday condemned this week’s burning of a Koran outside Stockholm’s main mosque, calling it an “Islamophobic” act, after an international Islamic body called for measures to avoid future burnings. “The Swedish government fully understands that the Islamophobic acts […]
(Fox) Riots have gripped the suburbs of Paris and quickly spread to other towns and cities across France following the death of a 17-year-old during a traffic stop, but how did the situation spiral so far out of control? “What’s happening there […]
(AFP) Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Friday distanced himself from this week’s protest at which a Koran was burned outside a Stockholm mosque, which sparked outrage in parts of the Muslim world. “It is difficult to say what the consequences will […]
(AFP) An exiled Iranian opposition group said Friday that it would hold a demonstration in central Paris at the weekend after a French court overturned a police ban on the event. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the de facto […]
(AP) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday condemned a Quran-burning protest in Sweden, signaling that this would pose another obstacle to the country’s bid for NATO membership. Speaking to members of his Justice and Development Party, Erdogan equated “those who permitted […]
(AFP) The man who burned pages of the Koran outside a Stockholm mosque, sparking protests and a wave of condemnations, told Swedish media Thursday that he intended to burn another Koran within 10 days. After being granted a permit to protest by […]
(AFP) A man set fire to pages of the Koran outside Stockholm’s main mosque Wednesday, drawing a swift condemnation from Turkey which is holding up Sweden’s bid to join NATO days ahead of a summit. Swedish police had granted a permit for […]
(Al-Arabiya) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that Sweden had to stop protests by supporters of the Ankara-criminalized Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Stockholm if it wanted Turkey to approve its NATO membership. “Turkey maintains its constructive […]
(Reuters) France has banned an upcoming Iranian opposition rally over the risk of an attack, according to a letter sent to the organisers and seen by Reuters, after the release of an Iranian diplomat convicted of masterminding a plot to bomb the […]
(Anadolu) The desecration of a Quran by a French national in Greece’s Western Thrace region this week was meant to disturb public peace in the region, said one of the Turkish minority’s elected religious leaders on Friday. In his Friday sermon at […]
(Anadolu) A French citizen tore a copy of the Quran at a mosque in Greece’s Western Thrace, representatives of the region’s local Turkish minority said Thursday. Upon a complaint filed by locals who witnessed the provocative act in the Iskece (Xanthi) province’s […]
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