Denmark seeks to legally prevent burnings of Koran and other religious scriptures
- Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said the government ‘will look at how, in very special situations, we can put an end to mockery of other countries’
- A recent string of public Koran desecrations by anti-Islam activists in Denmark and neighbouring Sweden have sparked angry protests in Muslim countries
Denmark’s foreign minister said on Sunday the government will seek to make it illegal to desecrate the Koran or other religious holy books in front of foreign embassies in the Nordic country.
Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in an interview with the Danish public broadcaster DR that the burning of holy scriptures “only serves the purpose of creating division in a world that actually needs unity.”
“That is why we have decided in the government that we will look at how, in very special situations, we can put an end to mockery of other countries, which is in direct conflict with Danish interests and the safety of the Danes,” he said.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has called an emergency remote meeting on Monday to discuss the Koran burnings in the two countries.
Lokke Rasmussen said the cabinet of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is determined to find “a legal tool” to prohibit such acts without compromising freedom of expression, but he acknowledged that would not be easy.
“There must be room for religious criticism, and we have no thoughts of reintroducing a blasphemy clause,” he told DR. “But when you stand up in front of a foreign embassy and burn a Koran or burn the Torah scroll in front of the Israeli embassy, it serves no other purpose than to mock.”
His comments followed a statement issued late on Sunday by the Danish government saying freedom of expression is one of the most important values in Danish society.