Commenting on Sweden's permission to burn the Qur'an, Turkish FM, Cavusoglu, says, Hate crimes are not freedom of expression

Commenting on Sweden's permission to burn the Qur'an, Turkish FM, Cavusoglu, says, Hate crimes are not freedom of expression

    Monday, January 23, 2023   No comments

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will denounce the Swedish authorities' permission for the leader of the far-right Danish "hard line" party, Rasmus Paludan, to burn a copy of the Holy Qur'an in the capital, Stockholm, and stressed that such crimes do not fall within the framework of freedom of expression.

Çavuşoğlu said that they "do not allow the burning of books of other religions, but when it comes to the Holy Qur'an and hostility to Islam, they immediately invoke freedom of thought and expression."

The Turkish minister stressed that hate and racism crimes do not fall within the framework of freedom of thought and expression, whether according to Swedish laws or decisions of the Council of Europe or the European Court of Human Rights.

He pointed out that Turkey was quick to take the necessary steps as soon as it learned that the Swedish authorities had allowed the extremist in Al-Wadan to burn a copy of the Noble Qur’an in front of the Ankara embassy building in Stockholm.

Davutoglu indicated that the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Swedish ambassador to Ankara to the ministry's headquarters and issued the necessary warnings to him, explaining that the Turkish ambassador to Stockholm, Yonat Janzel, spoke directly with the Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Bilstrom in this regard.

He expressed his hope that the Swedish authorities would take the necessary measures at the last minute and prevent this racist and hate crime from happening, which would cause outrage in the entire world.

After the event, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed that Sweden should no longer wait for Ankara to take any step within the framework of accepting its accession to NATO, in light of the burning of the Holy Quran in Stockholm.

Erdogan added, "You want to support terrorist organizations, and you support those who are hostile to Islam, and you want us to support your joining NATO... This will not happen at all."

And the Turkish president added, "We say clearly... Sweden is no longer waiting for any support from us for its accession to NATO... We say clearly that no one has the right to insult our sacred values."

Last Saturday, the Swedish-Danish extremist Ramsos Paludan carried out what he promised to burn a copy of the Holy Qur’an in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, amid great police protection and a large media presence.

The many ways Ukraine war exposed Western racism and double standard: Paris to Russia: the satirical cartoon is “Unacceptable”

The many ways Ukraine war exposed Western racism and double standard: Paris to Russia: the satirical cartoon is “Unacceptable”

    Friday, March 25, 2022   No comments

 You simply can't make this stuff up!

Today, Friday, Paris summoned the Russian ambassador to the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after he posted on his Twitter account cartoons that French diplomacy considered "unacceptable".

  

"We are striving to maintain a necessary channel of dialogue with Russia, but this behavior is totally inappropriate," the French Foreign Ministry said, referring in particular to a cartoon showing Europeans kneeling in front of Uncle Sam, who symbolizes the United States.

  

It should be noted that, France supported and defended the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist as protected form of freedom of speech even if they offend Muslims.

 

The Russian Embassy confirmed that “the question of the published tweet had been raised, among other points” during the interview on Friday morning. The Russian ambassador has on his side “draw the attention of our French colleagues to the provocations and acts of vandalism against Russian diplomatic representations in France” she added.

Updated story (3/29/2022): 

Limits of Freedom of Speech in Europe: German states to ban "Z" symbolizing support for Russia's war.

Apparently, publishing cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in offensive ways to millions of Muslims is an absolute right; but taking a position on an a war in Europe is not freedom of speech.

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