Denmark’s parliament has passed a law banning the desecration of the Holy Quran

Denmark’s parliament on Thursday passed a law criminalizing the “mistreatment” of religious texts, effectively banning the desecration of the Holy Koran after a series of desecrations of the holy book sparked outrage in Muslim countries over the summer.

The bill, which prohibits the “inappropriate treatment of texts of significant religious significance for a recognized religious community,” was passed by 94 votes to 77 in the 179-seat Folketing.

“We have to protect the security of Denmark and the Danes. It is therefore important that we now have better protection against the systematic abuses we have seen for a long time,” Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said in a statement.

In practice, it will be forbidden to burn, tear or otherwise defile sacred texts in public or in videos intended for wide distribution.

Those who break the law, which will be assessed after three years, face a fine or up to two years in prison.

Over the summer, Denmark and neighboring Sweden became the focus of anger in many Muslim countries after a series of protests involving desecrations of the Holy Koran.

Nearly a thousand protesters attempted to march on the Danish embassy in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone in late July following a call by cleric Moqtada Sadr.

Also read: In the first instance, Sweden sentences a man for desecrating the Holy Koran

In response to the worsening security situation, the Nordic country temporarily tightened border controls, but returned to normal on 22 August.

From July 21 to October 24 this year, 483 book burnings or flag burnings were recorded in Denmark, according to figures from the national police.

Originally announced in late August, the bill was amended after criticism that its first draft limited freedom of expression and would be difficult to implement.

It was originally designed to cover objects of significant religious importance.

The first draft was also criticized by some — including politicians, artists, media and free speech experts — as a return to a blasphemy law that Denmark repealed in 2017.

During a lengthy debate in parliament before the vote, opposition MPs lashed out at the government, accusing it of sacrificing freedom of expression.

“It’s a betrayal. A huge failure on the part of the government,” Inger Stoiberg, leader of Denmark’s far-right Democrats, told parliament.

Read: Denmark to ban desecration of the Holy Koran

In 2006, a wave of anti-Danish anger and violence erupted in the Muslim world after cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were published.

“Imagine we become the generation that curtailed free speech. I actually didn’t think it would be — and certainly not after the cartoon crisis. Then, we stood firm,” Stoiberg said.

In neighboring Sweden, the government has condemned the desecration of the Holy Koran in protests, while upholding the country’s constitutionally protected laws on freedom of speech and assembly.

He vowed to explore legal means to stop protests that include the burning of holy texts under certain circumstances.

Denmark is not the only European country that has banned the burning of the Holy Quran.

According to Denmark’s justice ministry, eight European countries — Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland and Romania — do so to varying degrees.

In Greece, for example, burning a sacred text may be prohibited if the act takes place in or near a religious site.