The Danish government said on Friday that it will propose legislation to ban the burning of the Quran after several incidents that have prompted outrage throughout the Middle East.
Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said the government seeks to expand its law that prohibits burning foreign flags to prohibit “improper treatment of objects of significant religious significance.” The bill would make it illegal to burn the Quran and the Bible as part of “actions in a public place or with the intention of spreading in a wider circle,” he said, according to The Associated Press. Hummulgaard said that freedom of expression will remain “a cornerstone of Danish democracy.”
The proposal came in response to the Danish government determining that Denmark is becoming viewed as a country that facilitates insults toward religion.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the charge d’affaires of the Danish Embassy in Ankara on Friday for the sixth time this month, the official Anadolu Agency reported. The report acknowledged the Danish government’s plans to ban the Quran burnings.
Iran’s semi-official Press TV headlined the story, “Denmark finally decides to ban Qur’an desecration.”
Background: There have been a series of Quran burnings in both Denmark and Sweden this year. In January, far-right Danish-Swedish activist Rasmus Paludan burned copies of the Quran in Copenhagen and Stockholm, including outside the Turkish embassies in each city. In June, Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika burned a copy of the Quran outside a Stockholm mosque. The far-right, anti-Islam group Danish Patriots also set fire to Qurans outside the Turkish and Egyptian embassies in Copenhagen in July.
The recent Quran burnings have been widely condemned by governments throughout the Middle East. The situation grew particularly tense when protesters stormed and set fire to the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad in July.
Until now, Denmark and Sweden have allowed the Quran burnings in the name of freedom of expression, though both countries’ leaderships condemned the acts.
Sweden has not indicated it will ban Quran burnings, but the Scandinavian country has taken some security measures. Early this month, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson vowed to tighten the country’s borders.
On Monday, the government announced it would review its Public Order Act to “examine whether Sweden’s security could be considered when examining permit applications.” The government cited the deroriating security situation in country, in part due to the Quran burnings, per a press release from the Government Offices of Sweden.
Why it matters: The Quran burnings have reignited the debate surrounding freedom of expression, incitement to violence and Islam’s blasphemy laws in the West. In July, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution condemning Quran burning as an act of hate. The United States and several European countries voted against the resolution, arguing it restricts freedom of expression, Euronews reported at the time.
Denmark’s move to ban Quran burning follows several violent attacks in Europe this century against people who have criticized and mocked Islam. In Paris in 2015, two al-Qaeda gunmen shot 12 people dead at the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The newspaper had previously published cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad. In 2020, French teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded after showing images of the prophet in a class on freedom of expression.
Danish and Swedish police also foiled an attack on the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2010. The paper had likewise published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
Denmark has embassies throughout the Muslim world, including in Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia. A Danish Foreign Ministry official told Reuters in July that the country has not withdrawn its staff from Iraq, contradicting reports to the contrary amid the fallout from the Quran burnings.
Denmark has deployed troops to Iraq in recent years as part of NATO. The Danish Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to Al-Monitor’s request for comment on whether Danish troops are currently in Iraq.
Know more: Last month, Swedish authorities granted permission to an unknown individual to burn the Torah outside the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm. The Israeli government condemned the move and urged Sweden to revoke the authorization.
