Chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations with Society and the Media of the Moscow Patriarchate Vladimir Legoyda named the burning of the Quran by a Swedish far-right hate-monger in Stockholm “an act of unacceptable vandalism”.
It added that one should not cross the boundaries of humanity in political struggle.
Nordic News reported on Friday that Rasmus Paludan, member of the Danish far-right Hard Deal party, received permission to hold a Quran burning rally outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
Paludan held an action on Saturday at 16.00 Moscow time.
“The burning of the Koran in Sweden near the Turkish embassy is an act of unacceptable vandalism. You can’t spit on what is sacred to another person. You can’t cross the boundaries of humanity and insult religious shrines in a political struggle,” Legoyda wrote on his Telegram channel.
Earlier, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the burning of the Quran in Stockholm indicates the level of Islamophobia, racism and discrimination in Europe. These actions were also condemned in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.
According to a report by the Washington Post, Paludan received permission to burn the Quran from the Swedish government. He was protected by the police while committing the act.
The report quoting sources from the Turkish foreign affairs ministry said that the ambassador was made very clear about Turkey’s condemnation, stating that the act was provocative and “clearly a hate crime”.
Paludan is a convicted racist who heads Denmark’s far-right Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party and holds both Danish and Swedish nationalities.
Last week, he burnt the effigy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Stockholm, the Daily Mail reported.
Although Sweden condemned the incident, Turkey said the Nordic country had to take a stronger stand and mere condemnation is not enough.
