Foreign Ministry summons Netherlands' ambassador over tearing of Qur'an

Photo: AA/File

Joep Wagensveld actually wanted to set fire to a Qur'an but after a discussion with the police, he decided to tear up a copy while standing on another copy.

Following the incident, the Türkiye's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a written statement yesterday, "condemned the attack in the strongest possible way" and announced that it had summoned the ambassador of the Netherlands, Joep Wijnands, to the ministry.

"This despicable act insults our sacred values and is a hate crime, this time happing in the Netherlands after Sweden. It is a clear affirmation that Islamophobia, discrimination, and xenophobia no longer know borders in Europe," the ministry writes.

"These actions directly target the fundamental rights and freedoms, moral values and social tolerance of not only Muslims but also all humanity, and also damage the culture of living together in peace," the statement continues.

When an ambassador gets summoned it needs to provide an explanation of a particular event at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

"Türkiye constantly meddles in affairs"

Earlier this week, a right-wing politician set fire to a Qur'an in Sweden. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan slammed the action, stating "those who encourage or tolerate this attack should understand the consequences." The ambassador of Sweden likewise was summoned, and the visit of Sweden's minister of defense was canceled.

Sweden applied last year to join NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine, but needs support from Türkiye. On Monday, President Erdoğan stated that Sweden should not expect Türkiye to back its bid.

Wagensveld called the reaction from Türkiye 'typical'. "Türkiye constantly meddles in affairs happening in European countries that do not concern Türkiye, but if it happens the other way around, it is suddenly inappropriate."

The Pegida leader, expressed that he was not pleased that the ambassador will go to the ministry. "We allow Turkish interference. We don't do anything about it and just let it happen," he said.

Wagensveld asserted that it would be good for the ambassador to get permanent parking space at the ministry, 'because this will happen more often'.

The frontman of the far-right political movement has been arrested for similar actions. Last year he was arrested after he announced that he would burn Qur'ans in front of the House of Representatives. (WM/VK)