Türkiye and Muslim-majority countries condemned the renewed burning of the Muslim holy book the Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm, saying the act incites hatred and should not count as free speech.

"We will teach the arrogant Western people that it is not freedom of expression to insult the sacred values of Muslims," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told party members on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Erdoğan said Türkiye reacts in the strongest possible manner to what he called "the vile protest."

"As much as those who commit this crime, those who allow it under the guise of freedom of thought, those who turn a blind eye to this, will not achieve their goals," the president said.

Two men took part in a demonstration in the Swedish capital where the Islamic holy book was set alight on Wednesday, the first day of Muslims’ Eid al-Adha holiday, under police protection in front of the Stockholm Mosque.

Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at a press conference that the action was permitted under the country's freedom of expression laws, but was not appropriate.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan condemned the protest and said it was unacceptable to allow anti-Islam protests in the name of freedom of expression.

Spokesperson for the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Ömer Çelik said, "We strongly condemn the Swedish Supreme Court's stance on protecting hate crimes. Every disrespect is a crime against humanity."

Ire across Muslim world

On Thursday, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) strongly condemned the incident.

The OIC said in a statement that such an act contradicts "international efforts to spread the values of tolerance, moderation, and renunciation of extremism."

It also reiterated its condemnation of such "reprehensible acts that some extremists deliberately commit."

The intergovernmental organization of 57 countries, headquartered in Jeddah, urged concerned governments around the world to "take effective measures to prevent its recurrence."

The OIC emphasized the importance of adhering to the U.N. Charter to promote and encourage respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all at the global level.

Saudi Arabia similarly said it strongly condemned the burning of the Quran.

"These hateful and repeated acts cannot be accepted under any justification. They explicitly incite hatred, exclusion and racism," the monarchy’s Foreign Ministry added in a statement.

Iran summoned the Swedish chargé d'affaires to express outrage.

The burning of Islam's holy book was particularly offensive because it came at the time of the hajj pilgrimage, the Foreign Ministry added.

"The Muslim world categorically condemns insult to holy scriptures and the Quran," the Islamic Republic's Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian tweeted.

"Allowing sacrilege and insult to Quran under any justification by Sweden is unacceptable," he added.

"Misusing democracy and freedom for such behavior would just only incite terrorism and extremism. The West only burns its fingers."

The Arab League, a regional organization, said its chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned Swedish authorities’ permission for the act.

Egypt called the Quran burning "a disgraceful act provoking Muslims' feelings around the world."

In Iraq, protesters gathered outside the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday, the official Iraqi news agency INA reported.

At the rally, some protesters raised copies of the holy Muslim book in a show of reverence, the agency added.

Local media reported the demonstrators demanded the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador.

Iraq's independent website Alsumaria News reported that the protesters briefly stormed the embassy before retreating. They are said to have managed to break through the gate to the premises.

Jordan's Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the Swedish ambassador to Amman in a protest against the "Swedish government's permission for extremists" to burn the Quran. The ministry condemned it as an act of "racism and hate."

Similarly, the United Arab Emirates summoned the Swedish ambassador to the Gulf country and handed her a protest note.

The Moroccan Foreign Ministry also summoned Sweden’s chargé d'affaires in Rabat and told the diplomat how appalled Morocco was at "this unacceptable deed."

Meanwhile, the U.S. described the act as "deeply disrespectful" but stopped short of condemning it.

NATO process in danger

The incident could pose a serious problem for Sweden's NATO membership application, which they submitted more than a year ago and has been held up partly because of similar incidents in the past.

Finland, Sweden and Türkiye had agreed to hold a high-level meeting in Brussels before the July 11-12 NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, however the latest incident risks annulment of the meeting.

In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022.

Finland has been a member of the alliance since April 2023, while Sweden still lacks Türkiye's and Hungary’s approval.

Ankara is blocking Sweden’s accession mainly because Sweden is taking insufficient action against terrorist organizations in the country.

There have been repeated meetings between representatives of the countries to resolve the Turkish blockade, most recently in Ankara in mid-June.

During that meeting, Erdoğan doubted his approval would come by the NATO summit.

Recent provocative demonstrations by terrorist sympathizers and Islamophobic figures in Stockholm have led Turkish leaders to question Sweden’s commitment to take the steps necessary for NATO membership and continuing terror-affiliated and anti-Türkiye protests risk endangering Sweden’s NATO bid further.

Ankara said Sweden must first take a more explicit stance against terrorists. Türkiye has frequently voiced that it does not oppose NATO expansion but criticizes Stockholm for not taking action against elements that pose a security threat to Ankara.