Danish Bible Society welcomes ban on Quran burning, but with reservation
Ultranationalist, far-right extremist Rasmus Paludan burns copy of Koran in Copenhagen. Photo EPA, Olafur Steinar Gestsson
Northern Europe
"Sad that it is necessary." That is the response of the Danish Bible Society to a potential ban on Quran burnings in the country.
Denmark presented a proposal on Friday to ban controversial Quran burnings and desecration of other religious scriptures. Recently, the actions have led to much upheaval and even negatively impacted national security in Scandinavian countries, including Denmark and Sweden. If the proposal is accepted, anyone who burns a Quran risks a jail term of up to two years, Vart Land reports.
Considering the current circumstances, a ban is the least bad solution, Johannes Baun acknowledges. Baun is the secretary general of the Danish Bible Society. Nevertheless, he is "sad that this is necessary".
At the same time, he points out that the 57 Muslim countries that pressure states in which Quran burnings take place should do something about their own human rights situation as well. "I think that a number of these countries should make sure to improve the conditions for, among others, Christians in their own countries before they start throwing stones at us", he says.
Insults
Denmark knew a blasphemy clause in the criminal law. However, the country abolished it in 2017. The proposal for a new ban will not, however, be a reintroduction, the government announced on Friday. Instead of preventing religious insults, the law will be mainly about protecting national security, Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (former), Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard and Deputy Prime Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said during the press conference on Friday.
It is yet unclear whether the proposal will eventually be adopted by the Folketing, the Danish parliament. However, according to Vart Land, the proposal is at least a signal from the Danish government. In addition, research shows that a third of the Danish population supports a ban on Quran burnings, Vart Land writes.
Mockery
Kristeligt Dagblad supports the move of the government but considers it sad that external pressure was necessary to ban blasphemy again. "It is clearly a good thing that limits are once again set for public mockery of religious objects that are of central importance to religious communities", the editorial comment reads. "A ban does not take away any reasonable opportunities for expression from anyone."
Dialogue
Muslim countries are happy with the proposal to ban Quran burning in Denmark. They call it a step in the right direction, Kristeligt Dagblad writes. The Iraqi Foreign Minister was one of the first to respond. Fouad Hussein writes in a message to the Danish Foreign Minister that his government "appreciates the position of the Danish government and the legal step that criminalises the burning or insult of the noble Quran."
Also, the leader of the militant Sadr group, which attacked the Swedish embassy in Baghdad after an earlier Quran burning, declares that he is now prepared to engage in meaningful dialogue with Sweden and Denmark.
Other Muslim countries that have responded are Kuwait, Pakistan and the Arab League.
Freedom
In contrast, some Swedish politicians react negatively to a possible ban in Denmark. One of them is Jimmie Åkesson from the rightist party Sweden Democrats. He distances himself from all forms of bans on Quran burnings, Vart Land reports. "The talk about curtailing our freedom of expression makes me deeply uneasy", he said on Saturday in a speech.
Åkesson's statements contradict the opinion of the coalition, which decided to investigate the possibility of a law to give the police more tools to stop Quran burnings based on threats to national security. The Sweden Democrats are the support party for the coalition, but Åkesson has already announced that this process does not have his approval.
Constitution
At the same time, the Swedish authorities have received twelve new applications for Quran burnings. Salwan Momika and Salwan Najem want to burn more holy books outside embassies and mosques, Dagen writes. Both of them caused earlier upheaval by desecrating the holy book of Islam. They now selected the embassies of the countries that responded most fiercely to the burnings as the new locations for their protests, such as Pakistan. "They cannot interfere with our freedom of speech and Sweden's constitution. They have to accept that", Salwan Momika told Swedish media. He added that he wants to wake up Muslims who hide in mosques "so we can throw them out. As soon as we burn the Quran, they make themselves known. Then everyone can see what Islamists are like."
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