Denmark bans burning of Quran; law passed
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Copenhagen (Denmark) – The public burning of the Quran has been banned in the European country Denmark. According to Reuters news agency, the Danish Parliament passed this law to reduce the growing tension with Muslim countries. Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said that since July 2023, there have been more than 500 protests in which the Quran or the flag of Islam was burnt. These actions may affect Denmark’s national security and its relations and interests with other countries. Therefore, this law has been passed.
94 out of 179 MPs support the law !
After 5 hours of debate in the Danish parliament, 94 out of 179 MPs, i.e. 52%, voted in favour of the law, while 77 MPs voted against it. The Government said that according to the new law, there will be a ban on tearing, burning, desecrating the Quran or any religious text in public or making a video of such act and broadcasting it.
In July 2023, there was an attempt to attack the Danish embassy in Iraq following the Quran-burning incident in Denmark. This led Denmark to increase security on its borders. Besides this, many Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Pakistan condemned Denmark.
Making such a law is an assault on freedom of expression; Oppn MPs say
The leader of the Denmark Democrats Party, Inger Stojberg, said that Denmark will be condemned in history if such a law is passed. The question is, have we fixed the ban on freedom of expression or did outside forces compel us to do so ? Violators of this law will have to face 2 years imprisonment and a monetary fine. A similar law has been predicted to be passed in the neighbouring country Sweden.