Sweden's Recent Quran Burning to Further Imperil NATO Bid

The Nordic country's NATO bid is facing a rough road, as Turkiye, one of the two nations that have blocked it, has warned Stockholm that its ambitions won't be granted as long as Qurans are allowed to be burned freely.

Yet another Quran burning in Stockholm has triggered a sharp reaction by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, further endangering Sweden's chances to enter NATO in the near future. Stockholm's bid currently hinges on Turkiye's approval.

"Many Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reacted strongly to the burning of the Quran outside a mosque in the Swedish capital Stockholm. This further jeopardized the Scandinavian country's chances to access the military alliance any time soon," Turkish media reported, citing upcoming events dominated by Sweden's stalled NATO bid.

Earlier, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan slammed Sweden over the incident, saying Ankara will never bow down to a policy of provocation or threat and calling the action "despicable."

"We will teach the arrogant Western people that it is not freedom of expression to insult the sacred values of Muslims," he was quoted as saying.

How the Rest of the Muslim World Reacted?

The desecration and burning of the Quran in Stockholm during the celebration of the first day of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha stirred strong backlash across the Islamic world.

Iraq demanded that the Swedish authorities hand over the Iraqi immigrant responsible for the incendiary protest as dozens of Iraqis gathered for a protest outside the Nordic country's embassy in Baghdad.

The Foreign Ministries of Jordan and the United Arab Emirates summoned the Swedish ambassadors to present them with a note of protest.

Morocco recalled its ambassador from Sweden indefinitely for consultations in addition to "most vigorous condemnation of this offense and rejection of this unacceptable act that disregards the feelings of more than a billion Muslims during this sacred period of the great pilgrimage to Mecca and the blessed feast of Eid Al-Adha."

Iran's Foreign Ministry called the desecration "provocative, ill-considered and unacceptable" and pledged to refrain from sending a new ambassador to Sweden.

Kuwait said the burning was a "dangerous, provocative step that inflames the feelings of Muslims around the world" and called on the international community and governments "to take responsibility for swift action to renounce feelings of hatred, extremism and religious intolerance."

The Yemeni government rejected the incident as a "deliberate provocation against the feelings of Muslims around the world on a holy Islamic occasion" and called for an end to the "repeated abuses" stemming from a "culture of hatred."

Algeria, Afghanistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Lebanon, Syria, and Uzbekistan were joined by Arab League Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Secretary General Jassim Mohamed Al-Budaiwi in expressing their condemnation.

How Russia Reacted

The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that the incident was carried out "with extreme cynicism and defiance," without clearly explaining the reasons for this act. It furthermore "resolutely rejected this indulgence of religious radicals on the part of Stockholm authorities."

"For the umpteenth time, they have allowed an Islamophobiс provocation citing the notorious 'freedom of speech' and 'democracy.' This kind of 'democracy' is not worth a dime if it effectively leads to lawlessness and permissiveness," it said, stressing that impunity in such cases can lead to unpredictable and catastrophic consequences.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a visit to the ancient Juma mosque in Derbent in Russia's Republic of Dagestan, emphasized that disrespect for the Quran is a crime in Russia, unlike some other countries. The head of state also stressed that Russia would adhere to these legislative rules at all times.

Repercussions for Sweden's NATO Bid

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance was working to complete the process of Sweden's accession to NATO before the summit to be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12.

On July 6, another meeting will take place at NATO headquarters in Brussels, which will be attended by the foreign ministers of member states and Sweden, as well as heads of intelligence organizations and national security advisers.

Against the backdrop of hostilities in Ukraine, Finland and Sweden decided to abandon their non-alignment and join the alliance last year. In order to do so, however, approval of all current members is required — which is where Sweden's bid hit a snag.

While all NATO countries agreed to the accession of Sweden and Finland at the Madrid summit at the end of June 2022 in principle, Hungary and Turkiye wished to consider the Swedish application separately and have so far refused to green-light it. Budapest cited Stockholm's "unjust" criticism of its politics, whereas Turkiye has accused Sweden of aiding and abetting Kurdish forces it sees as terrorists.