Salwan Momika

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has decried the recent Quran burning incidents in several European countries as hate crimes and acts of barbarism, expressing deep concerns over the "escalating Islamophobia in Western nations."

Sweden has ordered its armed forces and civil services to step up their preparations to deal with a terrorist threat, amid worsening security following several cases of desecration of the Quran, AFP reported.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has delivered a message against escalating Islamophobia and xenophobia in Western countries, calling for joint action to combat the alarming trends.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has addressed the ongoing protests in France and criticized those who suggest the possibility of the demonstrations spreading to Türkiye, asserting that such claims were "playing with fire."

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on June 30 called for calm and reflection in the wake of this week's protest in which a Quran was burned outside a Stockholm mosque, which has sparked outrage and condemnation.

"It is difficult to say what the consequences will be. I think there are many people who have reason to reflect," Kristersson told a press conference.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has strongly condemned the burning of the Muslim holy book the Quran in Sweden on June 28, further clouding the Nordic nation's chances of quickly joining NATO.

"We will not bow to the politics of provocation and threat. We will show our opposition against Islamophobia," Erdoğan said in a video message to celebrate Eid al-Adha of his party's members.