Türkiye Urges Denmark to Take Urgent Action to Prevent Quran Burnings

 Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a press conference with his South Korean counterpart in Ankara on July 29, 2023. (AFP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a press conference with his South Korean counterpart in Ankara on July 29, 2023. (AFP)
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Türkiye Urges Denmark to Take Urgent Action to Prevent Quran Burnings

 Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a press conference with his South Korean counterpart in Ankara on July 29, 2023. (AFP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a press conference with his South Korean counterpart in Ankara on July 29, 2023. (AFP)

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Saturday urged Denmark to take urgent action to prevent burnings of the holy Quran, a Turkish foreign ministry source said.

In a phone call with his Danish counterpart Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Fidan condemned the "continuous vile attacks against the Quran".

He told Rasmussen it was unacceptable to allow such actions under the guise of freedom of expression, the source said.

Rasmussen on Saturday wrote on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter: " Türkiye and Denmark are close allies. Important to not let these acts succeed in creating division."

He also reiterated Denmark's "strong condemnation of these provocative acts by few individuals."

The comments came after a small group of anti-Islam activists set fire to Qurans in front of the Egyptian and Turkish embassies in Copenhagen on Tuesday, after similar protests in Denmark and Sweden over recent weeks.

Denmark and Sweden have deplored the burning of Islam's holy book but say they cannot prevent it under rules protecting free speech.



Faeser: ‘Islamist Terror’ Poses Persistently High Risk on Germany

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (dpa)
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (dpa)
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Faeser: ‘Islamist Terror’ Poses Persistently High Risk on Germany

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (dpa)
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (dpa)

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has warned on Tuesday that her country remains a target for “Islamist terrorists”, following the cancellation of three concerts by US pop star Taylor Swift in Austria.
At a meeting with Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, in the western city of Cologne, Faeser said the security assessment is still in place.
She spoke of a “serious Islamist threat” that has been observed in Vienna.
ISIS – Khorasan Province
“Our country is also the focus of extremist organizations, particularly ISIS and one of its currently most dangerous offshoot ISIS– Khorasan Province,” said Faeser, a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
“Islamist terrorist organizations and also lone Islamist perpetrators who radicalize largely on their own, are a constant danger", she added.
"It is clear that we will not allow ourselves to be intimidated. But we take threats very seriously".
Authorities in Austria said they thwarted a terror plan to attack now-canceled Swift’s concerts in the past week.
Faeser affirmed that since Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, and the start of the war in Gaza, the security situation has deteriorated dramatically.
She said the risk of escalation in the Middle East due to a possible Iranian attack on Israel was “extremely dangerous.”
The Minister noted that security authorities have taken all protective measures against the threats posed by extremists and that several suspects have been arrested.