Denmark's parliament has passed a bill that makes it illegal to publicly desecrate the Quran or other holy texts. The decision comes in the wake of protests in Muslim countries over the defiling of Islam's sacred book, which raised security concerns. The bill prohibits "indecent treatment of writings with significant religious importance for a recognized religious community" and was passed with 94 votes in favor and 77 against in the 179-seat Folketing on Thursday.
In practical terms, it will be illegal to burn, tear, or otherwise deface holy texts in public or in recordings intended for widespread distribution. Those who violate the law risk a fine or up to two years in prison. Before it takes effect, Queen Margrethe needs to sign it officially, which is expected to happen this month.
The purpose of the law is to counteract "the systematic mockery" that, among other things, has contributed to increasing the risk of terrorism in Denmark, the Ministry of Justice said. Denmark and Sweden experienced a series of public protests this year in which anti-Islam activists burned or otherwise damaged copies of the Quran, igniting tensions with Muslims and triggering demands that the governments ban the practice. In late July, many protesters attempted to march to the Danish embassy in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone after a call by influential Shia religious and political leader Moqtada al-Sadr.
From July 21 to October 24, 483 book burnings or banner burnings were kept in Denmark, as per public police figures. Denmark has looked to figure out some kind of harmony between intrinsically safeguarded the right to speak freely of discourse, including the option to condemn religion, and public safety over fears that Quran burnings would set off assaults. Homegrown pundits in Sweden and Denmark have contended that any impediments on reprimanding religion, including consuming Qurans, sabotage hard-battled liberal opportunities in the locale.
Denmark's moderate alliance government has contended the new principles will hardly affect free discourse and that condemning religion in alternate ways stays legitimate. Sweden, as well, is thinking about approaches as far as possible Quran contaminations however is adopting an unexpected strategy in comparison to Denmark. It is investigating whether the police ought to calculate public safety while settling on applications for public fights.
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