Denmark imposes penalties of up to two years in prison for public burning of the Quran when such acts are judged to violate the law because they threaten public order or other protected values. Protests around these actions have drawn responses from the Islamic world and prompted the Danish government to consider security implications. Social Democrat Mette Frederiksen led discussions about strengthening measures on acts deemed to threaten national security. Toward the end of July, hundreds of protesters attacked the Danish embassy area and set buildings alight. In Baghdad, the Swedish Embassy faced similar protests as people reacted to an Iraqi refugee burning a Quran in Stockholm. Salwan Momika was a central figure in these events. Diplomatic complaints increased against Denmark and Sweden, both with sizable Muslim populations, while Turkey continued its EU accession process and NATO discussions moved forward in the background.
The Danish Parliament, on this Tuesday, debated a bill drafted by Frederiksen’s administration to penalize behavior that disrespects sacred religious texts. Changes were made from the initial draft, amid criticism that the original proposal could infringe on freedom of expression. The revised text emphasizes that denigrating religious beliefs and the desecration of sacred texts should be subject to legal consequences.
provocations
The recent outcry in the Muslim world was triggered by the public desecration of the Quran, primarily in Sweden, carried out by Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi refugee who recently identified as an atheist and has ties to Christian communities. Some observers link his actions to sympathies with or support from far-right circles in Sweden. Momika moved to Sweden in 2019 and holds a temporary residence permit. His latest extension request has been denied, and he awaits possible deportation; however, there are concerns about his safety if returned to Iraqi authorities, delaying enforcement of any removal order.
Momika’s actions received extensive media attention, yet he is not the sole actor within the broader Scandinavian landscape who has carried out such acts, often on an individual basis. Earlier, a Swedish-Danish neo-Nazi figure named Rasmus Paludan drew public attention with similar demonstrations outside neighborhoods with large immigrant populations and in front of mosques. Danish police reports indicate that between July and October this year, roughly 483 religious books or flags representing Muslim-majority nations were burned across the country.
From social alarm to murder
The Swedish government, led by a centrist coalition under Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, has faced months of debate about banning or restricting provocative acts. Kristersson openly expressed concern following the murder of two Swedish citizens who attended a match in Belgium last October, killed by an Islamic State sympathizer. The Stockholm City Council has acknowledged that citizens in the country have become targets of extremist violence.
Denmark still recalls the darkness of past protests that flared after the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in 2005. The best known of these is the work by Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard. Danish society ultimately framed that controversy as an issue of free speech, but over time there has been a shift toward resistance to acts that threaten national security and social peace.