Denmark’s parliament adopts a legislation making it unlawful to burn the Quran or different spiritual texts
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A brand new legislation was handed in Denmark‘s parliament on Thursday that makes it illegal to desecrate any holy text in the country, after a recent string of public desecrations of the Quran by a handful of anti-Islam activists sparked angry demonstrations in Muslim countries.
The Scandinavian nation has been viewed abroad as a place that facilitates insults and denigration of the cultures, religions and traditions of other countries. The purpose of the law was to counter “the systematic mockery” which, among other things, has contributed to intensifying the threat of terrorism in Denmark, the justice ministry has said.
“We must protect the security of Denmark and Danes,” Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said in a statement. “That is why it is important that we now get better protection against the systematic desecrations we have seen for a long time.”
The Folketing, or parliament, adopted the law in a 94-77 vote, with eight lawmakers absent. The new legislation will make it a crime “to inappropriately treat, publicly or with the intention of dissemination in a wider circle, a writing with significant religious significance for a religious community or an object that appears as such.” Works of art where “a minor part” includes a desecration, but is part of a larger artistic production, isn’t coated by the ban.
During the greater than four-hour debate, left-leaning and far-right events united in opposition to the center-right authorities, repeatedly demanding that the three-party coalition that offered the draft on Aug. 25, participate within the dialogue. The authorities didn’t say something and have been referred to as “cowards” by the opposition.
“Does Iran change its legislation because Denmark feels offended by something an Iranian could do? Does Pakistan? Does Saudi Arabia? The answer is no,” Karina Lorentzen of the Socialist People’s Party requested rhetorically. Inger Støjberg of the anti-immigration Denmark Democrats mentioned that the brand new legislation was a capitulation to Islam and a bowing all the way down to international locations that “do not share (our) set of values.”
“A restriction of freedom of expression is wrong in a modern and enlightened society like the Danish one,” Støjberg mentioned.
This 12 months alone, activists have staged greater than 500 protests, together with burnings of the Quran, in entrance of embassies of Muslim international locations, locations of worship and in immigrant neighborhoods.
Denmark has repeatedly distanced itself from the desecrations, however has insisted that freedom of expression is without doubt one of the most necessary values in Danish society. The authorities has mentioned there should “be room for religious criticism” and that there have been no plans to reintroduce a blasphemy clause that was repealed in 2017.
Oussama Elsaadi, an iman with a mosque in Denmark‘s second-largest city Aarhus, told the B.T. newspaper that it’s “a good message to all Muslims.”
“Burning of the Quran is an offense to others,” he mentioned, in keeping with B.T. “You may express yourself as you wish, but not in such a way that you destroy other people’s lives.”
In 2006, Denmark was on the heart of widespread anger within the Muslim world after a Danish newspaper posted 12 cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, together with one sporting a bomb as a turban. Muslims take into account photos of the prophet to be sacrilegious and inspiring of idolatry. The photos escalated into violent anti-Denmark protests by Muslims worldwide.
Those who violate the brand new legislation face fines or as much as two years in jail. Before it takes impact, Denmark‘s figurehead monarch Queen Margrethe needs to formally sign it. That is expected to happen later this month.
In neighboring Sweden, which also has seen a string of Quran burnings and requests to stage protests involving the destruction of holy books, a government-appointed investigation will establish whether to review the police ordinance, the Swedish news agency TT wrote.
Swedish police should be able to weigh threats to the nation’s safety throughout the examination of an software for a public meeting the place the desecration of a holy e book is included, and is ready to be accomplished by July 1 subsequent 12 months, TT mentioned.
There is not any legislation in Sweden particularly prohibiting the burning or desecration of the Quran or different spiritual texts. Like many Western international locations, Sweden doesn’t have any blasphemy legal guidelines.
The conflict of basic ideas has difficult Sweden’s want to affix NATO, an enlargement that gained urgency after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine however wants the approval of all present members. Turkey has blocked Swedish accession since final 12 months, citing causes together with anti-Turkish and anti-Islamic protests in Stockholm.
