Anti-Islam activists in Denmark and Sweden have burnt and damaged several copies of the Koran in recent months, prompting outrage in the Muslim world and demands the Nordic governments ban such acts.
Both governments have condemned the burnings and said they are considering new laws that could stop them. But domestic critics say freedom of speech and expression is protected in their constitutions and any move to change that would undermine prized freedoms.
WHO IS BURNING THE KORAN AND WHY?
At least three of the actions in Sweden over the past month have been led by Salwan Momika, a refugee from Iraq who says he wants to protest against the whole institution of Islam and ban its holy book.
Around the time of his protests, a far-right activist group called the Danish Patriots mounted its own anti-Muslim demonstrations in neighbouring Denmark, saying it was taking a stand against what it sees as the "Islamisation" of Nordic societies.
At least ten copies of the Koran have been burned in Denmark over the past week.
Danish-Swedish far-right activist Rasmus Paludan, who has been behind sporadic Koran burnings since 2017, has carried out more in both countries this year, saying he is angered by Turkey's opposition to Sweden's application to join NATO.
WHY HAVE THE BURNINGS CAUSED SUCH OUTRAGE?
Intentionally burning the Koran is seen by Muslims as a blasphemous and insulting act because they consider the Islamic holy book to be the literal word of God. Desecrating a Koran is seen as a grave offence worthy of severe punishment.
Muslims believe the Koran is the word of God transmitted to the Prophet Mohammad by the Angel Gabriel in Arabic.
Muslims treat a printed Koran with great reverence. In Muslim tradition, the believer should be in a state of ritual purity before touching it. The Koran should not be put on the floor and nothing should be placed on top of it.
WHAT IS AT THE HEART OF THE ISSUE IN SWEDEN AND DENMARK?
Denmark and Sweden are among the most secular and liberal countries in the world, and have long allowed trenchant public criticism of religions.
Politicians across Denmark's political spectrum say an outright ban would compromise citizens' constitutionally inscribed right to freedom of expression.
"I would never burn books, but I will fight for other people to have the right to do it," Susie Jessen, a lawmaker for the right-wing Denmark Democrats party, told Reuters.
WHAT ARE SWEDEN AND DENMARK DOING NOW?
Nevertheless, both Sweden and Denmark say they are examining ways to legally limit burnings to de-escalate tensions with Muslim nations.
They have both already faced significant retaliation. Angry crowds stormed Sweden's embassy in Baghdad in July. Both this week said they were facing increasing security threats.
Their ambassadors have been called in for rebukes and warnings across the Middle East. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said he will work to get Sweden's application to join NATO approved, but also warned it wouldn't happen as long as copies of the Koran were being burnt in Sweden.
WHAT NEXT FOR THE LAW IN DENMARK AND SWEDEN?
The Danish and Swedish governments say freedom of speech is already limited to some extent - it is illegal to insult someone over their ethnicity or sexual orientation.
But neither country has have legislation that can be used to forbid burning Korans. Sweden scrapped its blasphemy law in 1970, Denmark in 2017.
In Sweden, police must issue a permit to protesters but can only refuse one if public safety at the protest site is compromised. In Denmark, protesters are only required to inform the police they are demonstrating.
The Swedish government is looking at whether its laws on maintaining public order could be modified. It has ruled out making it illegal to burn holy scriptures.
The Danish government said on Sunday it would seek to find a "legal tool" that could enable authorities to intervene in such protests, if deemed to entail "significant negative consequences for Denmark, not least with regard to security".
© Thomson Reuters 2023.
14 Comments
Bad Haircut
There's a simmering unrest among the Nordic populations thanks to their governments' lax immigration policies, which do little to encourage integration by Muslim immigrants. One of the results has been the growth of crime-ridden Muslim enclaves that even the cops avoid like the plague due to the lack of safety. Another is that more and more people are growing tired of supporting unemployable migrants through their already high taxes and the erosion of their culture, and are fighting back.
dagon
Nordic social democracy is also being eroded by corporate rightist influence.
https://www.socialeurope.eu/sweden-less-special-than-it-was
And Muslims are complicit in magnifying culture war issues that distract from the real dangers to the social welfare of the Swedish people.
tokyo_m
Well, if they find way to legally limit burnings of the Koran, I trust the same laws will also apply to the Bible, all Buddhist Sutras, the Vedas, the Tao Te Ching, and so on, and don't forget The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Or will this apply only to Islam? If so, why?
Aly Rustom
And the Chinese Flag as well as pictures of Xi.
opheliajadefeldt
These 2 countries are not having a crisis over the Quran, it is a tiny minority of people who would probably fill a couple of buses. There are anti-Muslim fools in every country, but I would hazard a guess there are millions more anti-christian fools out there.
Jimizo
I’d remove the word ‘holy’ from this.
Which ones are ‘holy’ is a matter of opinion for the religious themselves. They can often have very strong feelings on the matter. Some places actually ban some ‘holy’ scriptures they don’t like.
Best refer to them as just ‘scriptures’.
This is a good point. I remember Turkey tried to pressure a European government to do something about a comedian ridiculing Erdogan.
Always tell these types where to shove it.
wallace
The Islamists destroyed Buddhist statues and sacred or cultural sites.
cleo
It's just a book, a collection of paper and ink.
If the protestors want to burn books that are the property of other people, then that's a problem, but if they are burning books that they legally own, it's no one's business but their own.
They're doing it to protest; reacting to their actions simply gives their protest power. Ignore them, and they will go away. Surely they have better things to spend their money on than books to burn to no effect at all.
Same goes for flags, pictures and effigies.
wallace
Freedoms of the West should not be dictated to by Islamists.
The Q'uran is only holy to its believers. To others, it's just a book.
Dr.Cajetan Coelho
Humankind values and gives importance to wisdom. Holy Books are Wisdom Banks.
albaleo
I'd have thought burning anything in a public place presents a fire danger. I'm surprised it's allowed.
Fighto!
Unfortunately I cannot agree with the Good Doctor here.
Scientific journals and manuals are some examples of "wisdom banks" to learn from and build on.
"Holy Books" are collections of fiction - and I include Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Jewish texts and all others. Some of them are extremely dangerous, and harmful in the minds of the easily led and unintelligent.
"Holy texts" deserve no protection in free, secular, democratic nations. Only backwards states offer them protection.
1glenn
I find it interesting that some of the people most antagonistic toward Islamic extremism are those who have fled countries subject to Islamic extremism.
I have met many people here in South Cali who fled countries ravaged by Islamic extremism. None of them, so far as I know, are interested in making a public display of burning the "Holy Koran," but neither are they particularly concerned about the phenomenon. There are over a million refugees from Islamic controlled countries living here in the Southland. I am not aware of any problem with integration into the larger society. They tend to be hard working citizens.
Dr.Cajetan Coelho
Holy Books are Wisdom Banks.
Dear Fighto!
Out here my fellow football analysts and pundits say they find lot of wisdom in Bhagvad Gita, Upanishads, Koran, Bible OT & NT, Granth Sahib, Avesta, Titpitaka, Agam Sutras, etc.