President of Turkey Recep Erdogan has suggested he will delay Sweden’s entrance into NATO if the Swedish government continues to permit public burnings of the Quran, in effect demanding the European nation enforces a Middle Eastern-style blasphemy law prohibiting insults towards Islam.
The Turkish President argued on the way back from a trip to Hungary that if Sweden wishes to become a NATO member it “must first of all take care of the streets of Stockholm. If they don’t take care of their streets, if these attacks on the things we hold sacred continue, then they shouldn’t blame us.”
“The decision will have to be made by the parliament, how much it will be discussed in commissions, how long this process will take, we do not know…” President Erdogan added. Sweden’s NATO membership is still awaiting official ratification by the Hungarian and Turkish parliaments. Both were expected to approve the application over the coming months.
There have been several public Quran burnings over the past month, causing outrage throughout the Islamic world. The most recent burning was led by the Iraqi immigrant Salwan Momika, who claimed he was “warning the Swedish people about the dangers of this book.”
In Baghdad, a violent mob stormed the Swedish embassy, setting it on fire before the Iraqi government expelled the Swedish ambassador from the country. As a result, the risk of terrorist attacks has been raised by Sweden’s security services from “increased” to “high.”