People burning the Koran or other religious books in Denmark could face up to two years in prison, under government plans aimed at defusing a crisis with Muslim countries that has led to an increased terrorist threat against the Scandinavian country.
The centrist coalition in Copenhagen will table a bill banning “the inappropriate treatment of objects with significant religious significance” in public places, Denmark’s justice minister Peter Hummelgaard said on Friday.
Both Denmark and Sweden have raised their terror threat levels and faced a huge diplomatic backlash from the Islamic world following protesters repeatedly burning the Koran and occasionally the Torah and Bible in front of foreign embassies.
“These are meaningless insults that have no other purpose than to create discord and hatred,” said Mr Hummelgaard. “When individuals burn the Koran, it is mocking and nasty. It harms Denmark and [its] interests, and risks harming the security of Danes abroad.”
