JEDDAH: The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has welcomed the adoption of law by the Danish parliament criminalizing the inappropriate treatment of religious texts including holy Quran, an OIC statement said on Friday.
The OIC Secretary-General, Hissein Brahim Taha, lauded this important step taken by Denmark, following the series of incidents of desecration of copies of the holy Quran in a number of European countries.
The Secretary-General expressed the hope that the law adopted by the Danish Parliament would contribute to efforts to combat acts of desecration of holy texts and religious hatred.
OIC General Secretariat Welcomes the Adoption by the Danish Parliament of a Law Banning Desecration of Religious Texts: https://t.co/kxydCwKDGg pic.twitter.com/HAwFZFYfNY
— OIC (@OIC_OCI) December 8, 2023
He went on to say that it will serve peaceful coexistence, friendship, harmony and tolerance among followers of different religions, peoples, and communities.
The Danish parliament took the step following the protests 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.
Islamophobic acts sparked tensions among Muslims
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 in 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 of imprisonment 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.
