The Danish government will propose a law to ban the public destruction of books and objects that are considered holy or have significance to religious communities, Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard announced on Friday, August 25th.
The government’s decision comes after dozens of instances of public Quran burnings both in Denmark and neighbouring Sweden. The provocative acts have not only caused diplomatic tensions between the Scandinavian countries and Muslim-majority nations but have also resulted in threats by Islamist terrorists. Sweden last week raised its terrorist threat level to four on a scale of five, which means there is a risk potential wrongdoers have both the intent and capability to carry out an attack and that a concrete threat against Sweden exists.
Citing free speech laws, Denmark and Sweden have so far resisted pleas to ban public Quran burnings, but Peter Hummelgaard pointed to national security concerns, saying that the burnings “damage Denmark and Danish interests, risk damaging security for Danes abroad and here in Denmark”. Hummelgaard also told a news conference that the recent protests were “senseless taunts that have no other purpose than to create discord and hatred.” Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said there have been more than 170 protests, including many with Quran burnings, in front of the embassies of Muslim countries, and that the proposed change is “an important political signal that Denmark wants to send out to the world.”
According to the new proposals, the destruction of books considered holy by certain faiths, like the Bible, the Quran, and the Torah will be punishable by a fine or a prison sentence of up to two years. Burning foreign flags is already punishable and carries the same punishments under Danish law. Given the current risk, the government wants to move quickly and introduce the bill next week, which means it could be adopted by the end of the year. The law is not expected to hit any obstacles, as the centre-left-liberal coalition government enjoys a majority in parliament with the support of four lawmakers representing the semi-independent Danish territories of Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Peter Hummelgaard stressed that free speech laws will be protected, and the coalition has no plans to enact more laws “of the same character.”
Neighbouring Sweden has also said it is examining ways to legally limit Quran burnings but faces a tougher task in doing so. The centre-right government in Stockholm is composed of three parties, one of which, the Christian Democrats, strongly opposes any infringement on free speech. So do the right-wing Sweden Democrats, whose external support gives the government a wafer-thin majority in parliament. Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch, leader of the Christian Democrats, said that Sweden alone determines its own legislation and would not be influenced by other countries’ faiths or laws. Busch said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter,
I have spoken about the importance of our freedom of expression and democracy. The legal right to criticize and desecrate what others find sacred is one of the pillars of our democracy.
Reacting to the Danish announcement on Friday, opposition party leader Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats, the largest party in Parliament, did not reveal her position but said that Sweden will be more vulnerable, and “the anger that exists in the Muslim part of the world will be directed at Sweden”.
In February, Stockholm police attempted to ban the granting of permits for Quran burnings, but the ban was deemed unlawful by Swedish courts, and a court of appeals upheld the ruling, arguing that police concerns over security were not enough to stifle freedom of speech.
