Rasmus Paludan, a Danish-Swedish far-right extremist whose previous anti-Islam and anti-immigrant demonstrations have made him infamous, added yet another crisis to the rapidly deteriorating relationship between Ankara and Stockholmn when he burnt a copy of the Quran in the Swedish capital on Friday. The act, which took place in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, occurred under heavy police protection as local authorities had given Paludan permission to stage the demonstration.
Last Friday’s event in Stockholm was not Paludan’s first demonstration of this type. A Danish citizen who acquired Swedish citizenship in 2020, Paludan is the leader of the Danish far-right political party Stram Kurs (Straight Course). Quran burnings in other demonstrations since founding Stram Kur in 2017 has gained Paludan infamy, and his demonstrations have often been accompanied by rioting and violence. Throughout his political career, the Stram Kurs chairman has nevertheless enjoyed police protection in both Denmark and Sweden, where such acts of protests are constitutionally protected.
Although justified by Swedish authorities as defending the constitutionally-protected expression of free speech, Turkish authorities were quick to characterize the event as a hate crime. An announcement from Turkey’s Foreign Ministry read: “We condemn in the strongest terms the burning of our holy book that took place in Stockholm today despite all of our warnings. We do not accept in any way the insults to Islam and Muslims through such provocative acts, which have been permitted under the guise of freedom of expression. This is a hate crime.”
Among the most concrete effects of last Friday’s Quran burning event in Stockholm is on Sweden’s NATO accession prospects, which may have been effectively brought to a halt by Paludan’s demonstration. Already delayed for months by Turkey’s refusal to ratify Sweden’s NATO accession due to alleged harboring of Kurdish militant groups, the incident likely puts an end to continued negotiations between Stockholm and Ankara, at least in the short term. Following the incident, a planned visit to Ankara by Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson was cancelled by his counterpart, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar. The visit had been planned in order to arbitrate differences between the two countries in hopes of moving Sweden’s accession bid forward.
Last week’s Quran burning demonstration was just the latest incident following weeks of deteriorating relations between Ankara and the NATO-hopeful. Another demonstration staged in central Stockholm on January 12 by sympathizers of Kurdish militant groups targeted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan personally, in which an effigy of the Turkish premier was strung up by the feet from a lamp post and shared on social media. The incident was strongly condemned by many in Turkey, with Erdoğan’s lawyer filing a criminal complaint in Ankara despite Swedish authorities’ refusal to investigate the incident. Similar to last Friday’s Quran burning, the effigy incident was protected in Sweden as freedom of expression. Speaker of the Finnish parliament Matti Vanhanen defended Sweden’s refusal to prosecute the incident, citing both countries’ freedom of expression laws. Finland’s NATO application is also awaiting Turkish ratification, as both Nordic states have been accused of harboring groups classified by Ankara as terrorists.
Despite permitting Paludan’s demonstration to proceed as ‘freedom of expression’, some Swedish authorities attempted to distance themselves politically from the Stram Kurs leader. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström released a statement condemning the act as Islamophobic, saying “Islamophobic provocations are appalling. Sweden has a far reaching freedom of expression, but it does not imply that the Swedish Government, or myself, support the opinions expressed.”
Sweden and Finland had applied for NATO membership in Spring of last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The accession process, however, has been stymied by Turkey, which has objected to both countries’ alleged harboring of militant groups classified by Ankara as terrorists. Following Turkey’s refusal to ratify the applications of both applicants last summer, President Erdoğan released a list last week (January 16) of 130 alleged terrorists whom the countries must extradite in order to be considered for membership. The prospect of extradition has been poorly received in both countries, which many feel would violate constitutional rights and sovereignty. At the top of Ankara’s extradition wishlist include alleged members of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) and People’s Defense Units (YPG) residing in the two Nordic states. Ankara classifies both groups as terrorist organizations. The PKK was involved in civilian unrest throughout the 1990s concentrated in southeastern Turkey, where the group became Turkey’s most infamous Kurdish separatist organization. The YPG, meanwhile, is a predominantly Kurdish militia group that has been heavily involved in fighting in Northern Syria throughout the Syrian Civil War.
While many across Turkey condemned Friday’s incident in Stockholm, President Erdoğan has yet to directly comment on the event himself. In Mardin, a city in Turkey’s southeast that historically hosted a significant Christian minority, some citizens responded to the incident in Stockholm in a conciliatory fashion by distributing roses to local churches.
The Quran burning event also drew condemnation from other countries in the Muslim world including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Jordan, Iran, Qatar, and Kuwait.
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