Denmark bans burning the Koran after a string of desecrations in the country sparked anger in Muslim nations

The Danish government will ban the burning of the Quran following desecrations in recent months that have sparked outrage in the Muslim world, an official said today.

Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard told reporters the government will introduce a bill that will “prohibit the inappropriate treatment of items of significant religious importance to a religious community.”

He said the legislation specifically targeted burns and desecrations in public places, mirroring incidents in Denmark and Sweden that damaged diplomatic relations with Muslim countries and sparked violent protests.

The Danish government said in July it would look for a “legal instrument” to ban Quran burnings, citing security concerns – and drawing criticism from right-wing groups, which have denounced the initiative as an attack on freedom of expression .

The decision to ban the desecration of religious objects follows an initiative by Sweden and Denmark earlier this month to tighten border controls after Sweden’s security agency ruled such “protests” had placed the country in an “heightened terror threat”.

The Danish Ministry of Justice said earlier this month that they should “increase the focus on who is entering Denmark in order to respond to the specific and current threats.”

It followed comments from Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, who suggested on July 31 that limiting Quran burnings could help de-escalate the situation.

But right-wing parties in both Sweden and Denmark have denounced the initiatives, with some saying freedom of expression should not be compromised.

Protests this year have sparked counter-demonstrations across the Muslim world, drawing the ire of protesters from Turkey to Indonesia, Iraq and Yemen.

In January, the Swedish government gave permission to far-right Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan to burn a Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.

Paludan has been burning Korans in both countries since 2017.

In response, protests erupted across the Islamic world, with people in Iraq and Palestine desecrating Swedish flags in anger.

Indonesia and Turkey both summoned their Swedish envoys after the book burning.

The Afghan Foreign Ministry called on the Swedish government to “punish the perpetrator” and to stop “such despicable and provocative anti-Muslim and anti-Muslim acts.”

In Denmark, a far-right activist group called the Danish Patriots has staged anti-Muslim demonstrations against what it calls the “Islamization” of Scandinavian societies.

The desecration events have also strained diplomatic relations between the Scandinavian countries and the Muslims, despite widespread condemnation from the governments of Denmark and Sweden.

Paludan’s protest in January soured relations between Turkey and Sweden. The book burning was intended to “mark some freedom of expression” after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan criticized Sweden for hanging his image in Stockholm by pro-Kurdish activists.

Rising political tensions eventually led Turkey to demand the extradition of 130 would-be terrorists, using Sweden’s dependence on Turkey’s vote to join NATO as leverage.

The far-right Danish patriots set fire to a copy of the Quran outside the Iraqi embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark, on July 24, sparking condemnation from Iraq and other Muslim-majority countries.

The group claims to be taking a stand against the perceived ‘Islamization’ of the Scandinavian countries.

Denmark, like many European countries, experienced a demographic shift after World War II.

This included large-scale immigration from Muslim countries from the 1950s; many escaped conflict, poverty and oppression in the Balkans, Anatolia and North Africa.

In 1973, the government restricted migration to the country before relaxing the rules and taking in many fleeing political persecution.

Similarly, in Sweden in the 1980s, many Kurds fled Turkey. Sweden agreed to pressurize migrants wanted by Turkey on ‘terror charges’.

Denmark is now home to more than 250,000 Muslims. The country has pushed for integration, banning “clothing that detracts from recognizability,” including religious clothing, and banning halal slaughter.

Amnesty International said at the time, the ban violated women’s rights.

In 2009, a US State Department report noted isolated incidents of discrimination against immigrants.

The report said: “There were isolated incidents of anti-immigrant sentiment, including graffiti, low-level attacks, denial of services and employment discrimination on racial grounds.

‘Societal discrimination against religious minorities was difficult to distinguish from discrimination against ethnic minorities.

“The government has criticized the incidents and investigated several, but has brought few cases to court specifically based on allegations of racial discrimination or hate crimes.

“Incidents of desecration of graves belonging to ethnic and religious minorities continued to be reported.”

Both Denmark and Sweden have struggled to contain attacks against religious groups, despite touting freedom of religion and expression.

There has so far been no law in Denmark and Sweden that specifically prohibits the burning or desecration of the Qur’an or other religious texts.

Muslims consider the Qur’an to be the word of God, passed down to the prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel.

The desecration of the text is seen as a serious blasphemous crime deserving of severe punishment.