The Turkish Foreign Ministry has advised citizens to avoid areas where such demonstrations are taking place, citing the incidents as a display of religious intolerance and hatred.
Turkey on Saturday issued a travel warning for its citizens in Europe, citing “possible Islamophobic, xenophobic and racist attacks.”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has advised citizens to avoid areas where such demonstrations are taking place and cited the incidents as a display of “religious intolerance and hatred” in Europe.
This move followed updates in travel advice from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Turkey also issued a separate travel warning for the US due to “verbal and physical attacks against foreigners and acts of racism.”
Turkey has been angered by far-right activist Rasmus Paludan setting a Quran on fire in Sweden and Denmark. Another far-right activist desecrated the holy book as a provocative act in the Netherlands, leading Turkey to summon the Dutch envoy.
The Turkish government was also enraged by a recent Kurdish protest in Sweden which showed an effigy of Recep Tayyip Erdogan being strung up. Turkey believes those protests have links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is also recognized as terrorist group by the US and EU.
The Turkish government was also provoked by far-right activists desecrating the Quran in Europe and a Kurdish protest in Sweden.
In response, Turkish citizens have protested in front of the Swedish Embassy in Ankara and the Consulate General in Istanbul.
