Sweden can't join NATO military if desecrating Islam’s holy book is allowed: Turkish President

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed on Wednesday that Turkey won’t allow Sweden to join the NATO military alliance as long as it permits protests desecrating Islam’s holy book. Turkey, which has been holding off approving Sweden and Finland’s membership in the Western military alliance, has been infuriated by a series of demonstrations in Stockholm by activists who have burned the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy and hanged an effigy of



Erdogan. It has indefinitely postponed a key meeting in Brussels that would have discussed the two Nordic countries’ entry into NATO.

Swedish government officials have distanced themselves from the protests, including by a far-right anti-Islam activist who burned copies of the Quran in Stockholm and Copenhagen, Denmark, while also stressing that the demonstrations are protected by freedom of speech.