Turkey Issues Travel Warning to Europe Due to Anti-Turkish Protests, Islamophobia

Turkey has issued a travel warning to all its citizens who either live in or are visiting Europe due to recent demonstrations against the Turkish Republic as well as recent Islamophobic incidents. The travel warning due to “dangerous levels of religious intolerance and hatred in Europe” comes a week after protests in Sweden where activists burned a Quran. The warning calls on Turkish citizens to stay away from demonstrations against Turkey and Muslims and warns them against racist attacks, which should be reported to the police. In addition, Turkey says there has been an increase in anti-Turkish protests by pro-Kurdish groups, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK,  a group that Turkey has ordered Finland and Sweden – in order to approve their bids to join NATO – to prevent the PKK’s activities in their countries. Meanwhile, the embassies of several foreign countries in Ankara, including the United States, Germany, France, and Italy, issued travel security alerts over possible attacks against places of worship in Turkey. The Quran also was burned in the Netherlands and Denmark. The US advisory to its citizens in Turkey warned its citizens to exercise caution throughout the city. Millions of Muslims around the world have launched counter-protests.