Turkey summons ambassadors of nine Western countries over consulate closures

Turkey summoned on Thursday ambassadors of nine countries to demand an explanation in the wake of a decision by the countries to temporarily shut diplomatic missions and issue security alerts following desecration of the Holy Qur’an across Europe.

The US embassy confirmed its ambassador attended a meeting at the ministry. Two European diplomatic sources said ambassadors from Germany, France and the Netherlands were also summoned.

Far-right activists burned copies of the holy Muslim book in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands last week. The conduct led to a halt in negotiations for Turkey to lift objections to a bid by Sweden and Finland to join NATO.

Countries including France, Germany, Italy and the United States have warned their citizens of an increased risk of attacks in Turkey. Germany, France and the Netherlands were among countries that temporarily closed diplomatic missions for security reasons this week.

Turkey has warned its citizens against "possible Islamophobic, xenophobic and racist attacks" in the United States and Europe.

Turkey calls off Swedish minister’s visit over planned ‘Qur'an burning’ event in Stockholm

The visit was aimed at addressing Turkey

The Turkish Foreign Ministry recently summoned the Dutch ambassador to Ankara over an anti-Islam protest in The Hague, during which a copy of the Qur’an was torn apart. It further referred to a Qur’an burning by a Danish-Swedish extremist politician in the Swedish capital city of Stockholm over the weekend, saying, “This makes clear that Islamophobia, discrimination, and xenophobia know no borders in Europe.”

Turkish people also held large protests to condemn the sacrilegious assault.

Like other parts of the Muslim world, tempers are running high in Turkey over the repeated Islamophobic incidents in recent days.

Protesters across various Muslim countries chanted slogans and vented their anger against the silence of the West regarding repeated sacrilegious incidents. Demonstrators also called on Muslim nations to boycott European goods.

Condemnations continued to pour in from Muslim countries across the world. Yemen, Qatar along with other Islamic nations joined Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey to denounce the desecration.

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