Danish government wants to ban Quran burnings
The leader of the far-right Danish political party Stram Kurs, Swedish-Danish politician Rasmus Paludan is pictured while holding an edition of The Quran (Koran), the central religious text of Islam, while staging a protest outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden. Photo AFP, Fredrik Sandberg
Northern Europe
The Danish government wants to curb protest actions that deliberately insult and denigrate other religions, for example, by burning or desecrating the Koran.
'We have recently seen several Quranic actions carried out by only a small number of people, which only serve to create division when what the world needs is unity,' The Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Løkke Rasmussen, told the Danish public broadcaster DR.
On Sunday, there were five Quran burnings in front of foreign embassies in Denmark, and, according to Rasmussen, seven are planned for Monday.
The Danish government, however, believe that these demonstrative actions could have significant negative consequences for Denmark, not least in terms of national security.
How the government intends to deal with this, however, Rasmussen had yet to say on Sunday. There is no intention to reintroduce a law against blasphemy, he said. According to Rasmussen, officials at the Justice Ministry are working overtime to develop a suitable legal solution.
Impressed
Rasmus Paludan is one of the leading figures in the actions against the Koran. He is not impressed by the measures announced. "There are other ways to criticize the Quran", he says to DR. "You can do a lot of things to show your dissatisfaction, and many of the actions you can commit, which are a graphic criticism of Islam, are something that Muslim countries do not like."
Paludan has burned the Quran three times. Once in Sweden and twice in Denmark in front of Turkey and the British embassy.
Mr. Paludan was enrolled as a student at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Copenhagen when he burned a Quran in Sweden. His actions compromised the safety of all employees and students at the faculty, the university believes. Therefore, Mr. Paludan was temperarily banned from entering the University, reports the Kristeligt Dagblad.
Extremely concerned
Apart from in Denmark, these controversial protests have recently been taking place regularly in Sweden. Right-wing extremist individuals and groups are particularly guilty of it.
Swedish police have received at least three applications for public gatherings in Stockholm over the next three weeks where the intention is to burn the Quran, several media report.
One man also plans to burn a book of Christian hymns outside in front of a church. The aim would be to "de-escalate the Quran burnings that put all Swedish people and the Swedish government in such a difficult position in the Muslim world," writes the Swedish news agency TT.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson earlier expressed deep concern over the Quran burnings. Kristersson fears something bad will happen if the protests continue. "I am extremely worried about what it could lead to," he said.
Related Articles
