RIYADH: The Arab Parliament – the legislative body of the League of Arab States – on Saturday welcomed a move by the Danish government to make the desecration of any holy book a crime in Denmark.
Denmark’s centre-right government introduced the proposed law after the recent public desecration of the Quran by a handful of anti-Islam activists, sparking angry demonstrations in Muslim countries.
The Speaker of the Arab Parliament, Adel bin Abdul Rahman Al-Asoumi, in a statement published on X, formerly known as Twitter, expressed the hope that this decision will contribute positively to reducing the heinous crimes that Denmark recently witnessed by burning copies of the Quran.
Al-Asoumi called on Sweden and other European countries to “follow the example of Denmark”. He also called on the European Parliament to adopt a similar law at the collective level to ensure that religious sanctities and symbols are not insulted.
Like Denmark, Sweden has recently seen an increase in unprovoked acts of desecration of the Muslim holy book, most notably on June 28, 2023, when an Iraqi refugee tore up and set fire to pages of the Quran outside the Stockholm Mosque in the Swedish capital. .
Subsequent protests in Denmark saw extremists burn copies of the Quran outside the embassies of a number of Muslim countries.
Following the backlash against Danish missions abroad, Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard announced last week that the government is seeking to extend Denmark’s existing ban on burning foreign flags by also “prohibiting inappropriate handling of objects of significant religious significance to the religious community”.
“The bill will make it a crime, for example, to publicly burning the Quran or the Bible. They will only focus on events in a public place or with the intention of expanding in a wider circle,” said Hummelgaard. According to him, he faces a fine or up to two years in prison for such acts.
Hummelgaard told journalists that the recent protests were “senseless taunts that have no other purpose than to create discord and hatred.”
