Denmark’s Justice Minister has announced that the Denamrk government would enact a ban on burning the Quran, Islam’s sacred text. Despite objections from some Danish opposition parties who argued that such a prohibition would infringe on freedom of speech, the government remained steadfast in its decision.
Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard clarified the intent of the forthcoming bill, stating that it aimed to “prohibit the disrespectful treatment of objects with significant religious importance to a faith community.” He emphasized that the legislation primarily focused on actions like burnings and desecrations conducted in public spaces.
Swedish police have arrested a woman who sprayed an anti-Islam activist with a fire extinguisher as he staged a Quran-burning protest outside the Iranian embassy in Stockholm.#Quran #Quranburning #Sweden pic.twitter.com/3KDwaiXJYh
— WORLD X MONITOR (@worldXmonitor) August 19, 2023
Hummelgaard elaborated further, stating, “The proposal will make it an offense, for instance, to publicly burn a Quran, Bible, or Torah. I firmly believe that there are more civilized ways to express one’s views than resorting to the burning of sacred objects.”
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This move comes in response to a series of incidents over recent months in which individuals publicly burned or damaged copies of the Quran in both Denmark and Sweden, displaying apparent hostility towards the Islamic faith. These actions have sparked widespread outrage in several Muslim-majority countries and led to calls for Nordic countries to implement measures against such practices.
Just last week, Sweden elevated its terrorism threat level to the second-highest category, a step not taken since 2016, due to concerns about potential acts of violence from individuals angered by these actions.