COPENHAGEN: The parliament of Denmark on Thursday passed a bill making it illegal to burn Quran at public places, Western media reported.
The development comes after protests started in the country by Muslim nations over the desecration of Islam’s holy book raising Danish security concerns.
Denmark and Sweden witnessed public protests this year where anti-Islam activists burned copies of the Quran or damaged the holy book publicly.
The Islamophobic acts sparked tensions among the Muslims who demanded the European governments to ban the practice.
Denmark in an attempt to maintain a balance between constitutionally protected freedom of speech, including the right to criticize religion, and national security feared that Quran burnings could cause security issues for the country.
Denmark’s coalition government has said that the new rules will have only a little impact on free speech and that criticizing religion in other ways remains legal.
Under the new law, a person could be fined or faced up to two years in prison for burning Quran.
It is pertinent to mention that Sweden is also considering ways to legally limit Quran desecrations but has a different approach than Denmark.
