Man desecrates Quran outside Turkish House in New York
Security personnel immediately intervene, remove attacker from premises which house Türkiye's Consulate General and UN mission.
The recent Quran burnings in Sweden and Denmark under the pretext of free speech have sparked angry protests in Muslim countries, including attacks on diplomatic missions. / Photo: AA Archive
An unidentified person has thrown a copy of Islam's Holy book, the Quran, to the ground and kicked it outside of the Turkish House, or Turkevi, in New York.
The incident took place on Friday morning, at 1446 GMT (10:46 am local time), Türkiye's Anadolu Agency reported.
Turkish House security personnel immediately exited the building, intervened, and removed the person from the premises, which houses Türkiye's Consulate General and UN mission.
The Quran in question was an English translation.
Officials from the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Diplomatic Security Unit (DSS) were informed about the incident.
A video circulating on social media shows a man throwing a book on the ground and trampling on it while shouting, "This is a Quran."
Standing against anti-Muslim sentiment
Recent months have seen repeated acts of Quran burning and desecration by racist and anti-Muslim figures or groups, primarily in Sweden and Denmark, under the pretext of free speech.
Türkiye has repeatedly called for preventing the acts that target Islam and Muslims under the "guise of freedom of expression," calling on states that allow and fall short of preventing the "heinous acts" to change their anti-Muslim attitudes.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that attacks on the Quran cannot be "defended with the excuse of freedom of expression" and that such acts "target social peace and stability", during talks with a delegation from the US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO).
"Our Ummah's [global Muslim community] stand against Islamophobia, intolerance and discrimination and their unity is of vital importance in the fight against this threat," he added.
In July, United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution deploring violence against holy books by consensus.
It denounced ''all acts of violence against persons on the basis of their religion or belief, as well as any such acts directed against their religious symbols, holy books, homes, businesses, properties, schools, cultural centres or places of worship, as well as all attacks on and in religious places, sites and shrines in violation of international law."
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