As the Turkish Parliament weighs ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership bid, an opposition party leader in the Nordic country drew ire for his call for the closure of mosques. Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş denounced the call on Thursday and lamented the rise of fascism in the continent.
“Europe is distancing itself from its founding values,” he told the broadcaster NTV. “We see too many cases of racism, anti-Muslim sentiment and xenophobia,” he said.
Sweden Democrats (SD) leader Jimmie Akesson called for some mosques to be seized and leveled during a speech at his annual party conference on Saturday. “We need to start confiscating and tearing down mosques where anti-democratic, anti-Swedish, homophobic, anti-Semitic propaganda or general disinformation is being spread,” Akesson said.
Akesson’s speech sparked anger both in Sweden and abroad, and forced Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to issue a statement on X, formerly Twitter, reiterating Sweden’s “constitutional right to freedom of religion.”
“You brag about the multicultural basis of Europe, but then you call for the closure of mosques. This is ridiculous and none of your business,” Kurtulmuş said. “I am worried for Europe for the rise of this fascist, racist policy. One day, Europe will have to turn to Türkiye for humanitarian values. This fascist, autocratic mindset currently targets Muslims and those they deem ‘others’ but maybe some time in the future, it will attack Europeans advocating for more democratic values, too. This is an alarming situation for Europe,” Kristersson said.
On Parliament’s ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership, Kurtulmuş said Türkiye expected Sweden to fulfill its responsibilities and noted some “positive steps taken.”
“The process is continuing. The Foreign Affairs Committee will discuss it and then will bring it to the general assembly,” he said about the ratification process.
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