Iraqis raise copies of the Quran, the holy book of Islam, during a protest in Baghdad (AP)
For Copenhagen, it recalls the so-called cartoon crisis from 2005 to 2006, when cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad were printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllandsposten. Lasting for months, that particular crisis led to more than 100 deaths in angry protests around the world. In 2005, the then-prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, declined an invitation to meet with representatives from Muslim-majority nations. He would make a speech in early 2006 saying that he hoped “that we have reached a point where we can return to a constructive dialogue between the people of Denmark and the Muslim world”.
This time, the Danish foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, quickly reached out to the Organisation of Islamic Countries to condemn the Quran burnings. The Danish government is now trying to find a way to make the burning of religious books and symbols illegal – no doubt aware of the massive hit to Danish exports to Islamic countries last time round, and eager to avoid another stand-off with the Muslim world.
Several members of the current coalition government voted to remove an existing blasphemy law in 2017 that would have made Quran burnings illegal. Rasmussen, who was prime minister in 2017, declared himself proud of removing the blasphemy law, allowing a free and open dialogue. Today, he appears to see things differently.
“It is a despicable act to offend others’ religious belief. This is true when it comes to burning Qurans as well as other religious symbols. These acts have no other purpose but to provoke and cause division,” Rasmussen wrote in a statement in July.
His call for action to prevent the Quran burnings has led to cries of hypocrisy in some quarters. “The Danes have a right to know which side the government is on: Danish freedoms or the Muslim governments who want to curtail them,” writes Leny Malacenski in the broadsheet Weekendavisen.
In Sweden, the long-standing consensus of welcoming migrants to Swedish shores has been challenged after far-right party the Sweden Democrats (Sverigesdemokratarna), took 20.5 per cent of the vote in the 2022 elections, becoming the second-largest party in parliament. A “confidence and supply” agreement with the far-right party props up Kristersson’s minority coalition. When asked about this on Thursday, Kristersson said that some Swedes should “reconsider how you express yourself”.
He added: “There is no reason to intentionally offend someone else, because it actually risks threatening Sweden.”
The Swedish prime minister is undoubtedly feeling the heat. Adding to this is the text message from an unknown source that has been sent to numerous recipients in Denmark and Sweden. “Setting fire to the holy Quran shows Sweden and the Western countries’ hypocrisy and treason,” the text reads, along with a link offering 350,000 krona (about £25,000) for the politician Paludan “dead or alive”, according to the Swedish public broadcaster SVT.
Finding a way to appease both free-speech hardliners and those who seek a change to the law will prove difficult for Kristersson, meaning that the crisis is likely to drag on. Linking the spread of disinformation about the Quran burnings to Russia may provide added impetus.
“We are using a lot of resources to build partnerships and alliances based on two principles: there is a war in Europe, and we need global backing for a good solution for Ukraine, and that the West is losing influence in the world. This means that we simply must do what we can to make sure we have good partners on the international scene,” the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, recently wrote in Weekendavisen.
But the path will not be easy. Quite rightly, neither Sweden nor Denmark wants to risk their links with international partners, but the problem they must reckon with is how to reconcile this with the free-speech laws and traditions that are deeply embedded in both nations.
Source link : https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/sweden-terror-denmark-quran-burning-koran-b2395449.html
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Publish date : 2023-08-19 07:00:00
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