EU condemns spate of Quran burnings

The EU’s foreign policy chief Josef Borrell on Wednesday condemned recent Quran burnings in Denmark and Sweden.

Burning the Islamic holy book “is offensive, disrespectful and a clear provocation,” Borrell said in a statement. Diversity and tolerance for religious communities are key values of the EU and “expressions of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance have no place” here, the top diplomat added.

On Tuesday, a Quran was burned during far-right anti-Islam demonstrations in front of the Egyptian and Turkish embassies in Copenhagen. Sweden and Denmark have witnessed a number of recent Quran burnings, which inflamed tensions with Turkey.

“Not everything that is legal is ethical,” Borrell said. Some Quran burnings by far-right protestors were authorized by police, however both the Danish and the Swedish governments have condemned the acts.

Last week, demonstrators in Baghdad stormed the Swedish embassy to protest Quran burning in Sweden. Iraq also expelled the Swedish ambassador prior to the burning. Demonstrators in other Muslim-majority countries like Yemen have also taken to the streets to protest against the burnings.