Denmark Seeking Legal Means to Prevent Quran Burnings

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Facts

  • Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Sunday that the government will try to find legal means to prevent the burning of copies of the Quran, and other religious scriptures, in front of countries’ embassies in Denmark.1
  • Quran burnings are legal in Denmark and Sweden under current protest laws. Recently, a Danish far-right group — the "Danish patriots" — organized two burnings before the Iraqi Embassy in Copenhagen, sparking diplomatic rows with Turkey and condemnation by EU officials.2
  • Rasmussen stated: "The burnings are deeply offensive and reckless acts committed by few individuals. These few individuals do not represent the values the Danish society is built on."3
  • While he added that finding "a legal tool" to prohibit such acts without compromising freedom of speech would not be easy, Rasmussen argued that "when you stand up in front of a foreign embassy or the Israeli embassy and burn a Qur'an or burn the Torah scroll, it serves no other purpose than to mock."4
  • Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson also said his government is analyzing the legal situation regarding the desecration of the Quran and other holy books, given the animosity such acts are stirring up against Sweden. "We are in the most serious security policy situation since the Second World War," he said.5
  • Alongside angry protests, Saudi Arabia and Iraq have called upon the Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation to convene on Monday to address Quran desecration in both Nordic countries. Other Muslim nations have also launched campaigns to boycott Swedish products.6

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2POLITICO, 3Reuters, 4The Times of Israel, 5VOA, and 6DW.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by Egypt Today. Desecration of holy texts isn't free speech; it's hate speech. All these acts seek to do is provoke Muslims in Europe and outside of it, and such actions have no place in a "free" society. Bigotry only makes the world worse and stimulates hatred, serving the agendas of extremists and contributing to the goals of their malevolent ideologies.
  • Right narrative, as provided by Spectator (UK). Though the intentional desecration of a holy text is certainly an unsavory act, there's a reason Europe doesn't possess blasphemy laws; to facilitate a free society. Legislation that would threaten said freedom of expression is a slippery slope that inadvertently demeans Muslims by singling them out as a community that requires special protection from free, open discourse.

Predictions