WASHINGTON
The United States said Monday that the burning of a Koran by an extremist outside the Türkiye embassy in Stockholm, the Swedish capital, was “deeply disrespectful” but did nothing to condemn it.
“As the Swedish minister said, burning holy books for many is a deeply disrespectful act,” U. S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
Emphasizing that the United States supports freedom of arrangement and the right to nonviolent assemblies as elements of democracy, Price said, “And he (the Swedish prime minister) pointed out that what is legal is necessarily appropriate. “
“We have a saying in this country: anything can be legal but still horrible,” he said. “I think in this case, what was noticed in the context of Sweden falls into that category. “
Price said those who burned Islam’s holy book “could have an interaction in an intentional effort to try to weaken unity across the Atlantic within and among our European allies and partners. “
He said freedom of arrangement and freedom of expression give other people the “right to take measures that may be disrespectful, that may be disgusting, that may be repugnant. “
“All of those descriptions apply to what we see here,” he continued.
Asked by reporters why he does not condemn the burning of the Koran, Price said: “I never tire of condemning this, this specific action, as I have said before. It’s disgusting. It’s a vile thing. “
“Of course, countries around the world have done that, and what we also seek to defend are the same democratic principles that we are talking about here: the right to freedom of assembly, the right to freedom of expression,” he said, recalling at least “a high-profile incident” that occurred in the United States before. without elaborating.
Rasmus Paludan, a Swedish-Danish extremist politician, burned a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm on Saturday with police cover and permission from the Swedish government.