Norway’s planned holy book burning rally is prevented by police

• Demonstrators intended to burn a copy of the Islamic holy book.
• Turkey has called the top envoys and ambassadors of nine nations.
• Consulates of at least seven European nations have closed to the public in Istanbul.

Hours after the Turkish foreign ministry contacted the Norwegian ambassador to complain, police in Norway have prohibited a planned protest that included the burning of a copy of the Islamic holy book, the Quran.

According to police, a group of demonstrators intended to burn a copy of the Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Oslo on Friday.

“The police emphasize that burning the Quran is a legal political statement in Norway, but this event can’t go ahead due to security concerns,” Oslo police Inspector Martin Strand said in a statement on Thursday.

The action was taken after the planned protest prompted the Turkish foreign ministry to summon Norway’s ambassador, Erling Skjonsberg.

“Upon learning that there will be an attack against our holy book, the Quran, in Norway tomorrow, the Norwegian ambassador to Turkiye [Turkey] has just been summoned to our ministry,” a Turkish diplomatic source told Anadolu Agency earlier on Thursday.

“[Norway’s] approach not to prevent the planned provocative act, which is clearly a hate crime … is unacceptable and we expect this act not to be allowed,” the source added.

The incident comes after a far-right Danish-Swedish politician named Rasmus Paludan set fire to a copy of the Quran at a demonstration in Sweden’s capital city’s vicinity of the Turkish embassy last month.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an organisation that has waged an uprising against the Turkish state since 1984 and that Turkey, the European Union, and the United States have branded as “terrorist,” was supported by Kurdish activists during a second march, which Sweden also condemned.

Following the demonstrations, Turkey called off a visit by Sweden’s defense minister intended to allay Ankara’s concerns about joining NATO.

Although Sweden and Finland had made headway in their negotiations with Turkey on the Nordic countries’ membership in the military alliance, differences have raised questions about the process.

In an effort to allay Turkey’s concerns about Sweden joining NATO, Stockholm announced on Thursday that it will strengthen the regulations governing membership in “terrorist” organizations months after the two countries reached an agreement on combating “terrorism.”

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, stated on Wednesday that while Ankara’s stance towards Sweden was “not positive,” it was “positive” towards Finland.

Tobias Billstrom, the foreign minister of Sweden, retaliated by stating that his nation would not compromise on freedom of expression, which was not covered by the agreed-upon accord.

On May 18, the Nordic nations formally applied to join NATO, abandoning their long-standing non-alignment commitments.

The NATO alliance, which has 30 members and was established in 1949, includes Norway as a founding member. A nation must receive the unanimous consent of all other members in order to join the NATO alliance.

Separately on Thursday, Turkey called the top envoys and ambassadors of nine nations to protest the closing of many European consulates in Istanbul over security concerns.

Due to an increased threat from terrorism, the United States and numerous other European nations have warned residents to stay away from tourist destinations in central Istanbul and major activities.

As a precaution, the consulates of at least seven European nations have closed to the public in Istanbul. The US consulate, which is not in the heart of the city, is still open.

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