Denmark will investigate if it can find legal grounds to block public burnings of the Koran as the Nordic country tries to defuse escalating tensions with Muslim nations.
The Danish government wants to intervene in situations where “other countries, cultures, and religions are being insulted, and where this could have significant negative consequences for Denmark,” the foreign ministry said in a statement late Sunday. Desecration of holy texts “could also have major security implications,” it said.
Koran burnings in Denmark and neighboring Sweden have sparked protests in Iraq and in the Middle East, a throwback to 2005 when a Danish newspaper published 12 drawings of the Prophet Muhammad, which set off a diplomatic crisis. Back then, Denmark’s government said the cartoons were protected by freedom of speech and said it couldn’t intervene.
The government said in Sunday’s statement that its new move would be made “within the framework of the constitutionally protected freedom of expression,” but didn’t provide details.
Neighboring Sweden last week warned of a deteriorating security situation after disinformation campaigns fueled hatred across the Muslim world. Burnings of the Koran have occurred since January in Sweden, intended to derail its application to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The burnings in Denmark have been carried out by small groups of people from far-right groups. A resident from Iran has also set fire to the bible and the Torah outside of Israel’s embassy in Copenhagen in a retaliation protest.
“These actions play into the hands of extremists,” the Danish government said in the statement. “They sow division at a time when we need to stand together, and they benefit the countries that want to drive a wedge between the West and the Global South.”
