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Turkish first lady voices 'sorrow' over Quran burnings in Sweden

Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan receives Swedish PM’s wife Birgitta Ed on sidelines of NATO summit in Vilnius, exchanging ideas to improve cultural cooperation.

Türkiye's first lady has conveyed her "sorrow" to the spouse of Sweden's premier over a recent burning of the Muslim holy book in Stockholm, she said.

"I expressed my sorrow to Mrs. Ed about the disrespect shown to our holy book, the Quran, in Sweden," Emine Erdogan tweeted Wednesday after receiving Birgitta Ed on the sidelines of this week's NATO summit in Lithuania .

Last month, a person identified as Iraqi national burned a copy of the Quran under police protection in front of the Stockholm Mosque in Sweden.

His provocative act was timed to coincide with Eid al Adha, one of the major Islamic religious festivals celebrated by Muslims worldwide.

"I was delighted that an agreement was reached on concrete measures to combat the escalating racism and Islamophobia in Europe," Erdogan also said in her tweet after the meeting.

During our visit to Vilnius for the NATO Summit, we met with Birgitta Ed, the spouse of the Swedish prime minister.

We analysed the social projects we are currently implementing and exchanged ideas on how to strengthen cultural cooperation.

I expressed my sorrow to Mrs. Ed… pic.twitter.com/5uVukSMaFP
— Emine Erdoğan (@EmineErdogan) July 12, 2023

Erdogan also said that during their meeting in the Baltic nation's capital Vilnius, she and Ed discussed their social projects and how to improve cultural cooperation between the two countries.

"I hope that our bilateral relations with Sweden, which trace back to the Ottoman era, continue to expand and grow."

The 31 leaders of the military alliance are meeting in Lithuania's capital Vilnius to discuss the conflict in Ukraine, Sweden's NATO bid, and steps to strengthen the group's defense and deterrence.