Denmark wants to ban Quran burnings

The Danish government presented to the press on Friday August 25 a bill to ban the burning of the Koran, after desecrations of the holy book of Islam led to tensions in several Muslim countries. The law goes “prohibit the inappropriate treatment of objects of significant religious significance to a religious community”said the Minister of Justice, Peter Hummelgaard.

The text targets the burning or trampling of these objects in a public place, but also in a private place if there is the intention of disseminating these desecrations more widely. The legal provision will therefore also apply to desecrations of the Bible, the Torah or religious symbols such as the crucifix. As for the Koran, burning is one “fundamentally contemptuous and unsympathetic act” And “harm to Denmark and Danish interests”continued the Minister of Justice.

The bill will not cover “verbal or written expression” of these gestures, including caricatures, specified the minister, affirming that Denmark continued to assert its strong attachment to freedom of expression despite criticism from certain opposition parties who consider that it neglects it.

Denmark repealed the offense of blasphemy six years ago

If this bill is approved by the Folketinget, where the government has a majority, the offender will face a fine or a prison sentence of up to two years. Six years ago, Denmark repealed the offense of blasphemy, a 334-year-old provision that punished public insults to religions.

After the troubles aroused in Muslim countries following the desecration of the Koran in Denmark, the Scandinavian country had for a time tightened its border controls, before returning to normal on August 22. The burnings have “engendered great anger throughout the world”also declared the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, during the press briefing.

Denmark and its Swedish neighbor have thus crystallized the anger within Muslim countries. In Iraq, for example, hundreds of demonstrators supporting the influential religious leader Moqtada Al-Sadr tried at the end of July to march towards the Danish embassy in Baghdad. Also, at the end of July, Algeria announced that it had summoned the diplomatic representatives of Denmark and Sweden to protest against recent desecrations of the Koran in Copenhagen and Stockholm.

Situation “as uncertain” as “unpredictable”

“We have made great efforts to contain this anger. At the moment, the situation is quite calm, but also uncertain and unpredictable.”noted Lars Lokke Rasmussen: he foresees that at “in the short term we will probably see more burnings of the Koran rather than less”before the entry into force of the law.

In 2006, a wave of anti-Danish violence engulfed the Muslim world after the publication of cartoons of Muhammad. In Sweden, where similar degradations of the holy book of Muslims have taken place regularly for several months, the authorities are considering ways to limit the organization of demonstrations planning to burn the Koran, while respecting freedom of expression. Became “priority target” jihadist organizations, according to its intelligence services, Sweden raised its terrorist alert level to 4 on a scale of 5 in mid-August.

In Denmark, it is at this level ” for several years “had then specified the Danish information to Agence France-Presse. “While recent incidents have increased the threat, there is currently no reason to raise the threat level to “very serious”i.e. at level 5”they said.