Denmark Turns its Back on Commitment to Free Speech with New Law Banning the Desecration of Holy Texts

By Thomas Carr.

Throughout 2023, Denmark experienced a series of public protests where anti-Islam activists desecrated copies of the Quran, the Muslim holy book.[1] In August, alone, there were more than 170 demonstrations in the country, often taking place in front of the embassies of Muslim-majority countries.[2] The protests were often organized by far-right activists and denounced Islam and Muslim immigration.[3]

The response in Muslim communities was swift and serious. The Danish embassy in Iraq was attacked by hundreds of protestors, and Iranian authorities summoned Denmark’s diplomats over the demonstrations.[4] Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, announced in late July that if a government supported those burning the Quran, it would be “equivalent to going into battle-array for war.”[5] The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which comprises fifty-seven Muslim states, also condemned the protests, criticizing Denmark for allowing them to continue “under the garb of freedom of expression.”[6]

As the backlash unfolded, Danish authorities grew concerned about security both at home and abroad.[7] It eventually became clear to government officials that the situation was untenable.[8] So, in August 2023, Denmark’s centrist coalition government introduced a bill that set out to ban the public desecration of holy texts.[9] The bill eventually passed 94-77 in the 179 seat Folketing making it a crime “to inappropriately treat, publicly or with the intention of dissemination in a wider circle, a writing with significant religious significance for a religious community or an object that appears as such.”[10] Violators are subject to fines and up to two years in prison.[11] A spokesperson for the Moderate Party, which is part of the governing coalition, declared that “[t]he terrorist threat level against Denmark is alarmingly high,” and the law was “introduced out of necessity, not out of desire.”[12]

That sentiment was not shared by all: Inger Stojberg, leader of the far-right, anti-immigration Denmark Democrats party claimed that "[h]istory will judge us harshly for this, and with good reason . . . What it all comes down to is whether a restriction on freedom of speech is determined by us, or whether it is dictated from the outside”[13] On the other side of the political aisle, Karina Lorentzen of the Socialist People’s Party also protested the law.[14] During parliamentary debate on the bill, she asked other members of parliament, “Does Iran change its legislation because Denmark feels offended by something an Iranian could do? Does Pakistan? Does Saudi Arabia? The answer is no.”[15]

The law is ultimately a disappointing abandonment of Denmark’s commitment to free speech.[16] Denmark has traditionally protected the right to criticize religion and express political views.[17] The law, and the draconian punishment it imposes on violators, departs from Denmark’s free speech tradition.[18]

Further, the law ignores international covenants to which Denmark is a signatory.[19] Denmark is obligated under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to uphold free speech principles.[20] The United Nations Human Rights Committee has affirmed that laws that criminalize blasphemy and religious offense are incompatible with ICCPR Article 19’s right to freedom of expression and Article 18’s right to freedom of religion and belief.[21] This notion has been confirmed by several reports by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief.[22]

Danish officials talk during a parliamentary vote in Copenhagen. Image courtesy of Mads Claus Rasmussen / Associated Press.

The law also violates the Rabat Plan of Action—a conglomeration of conclusions and recommendations from several workshops held by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.[23] Paragraph 25 of the Rabat Plan expresses that “[s]tates that have blasphemy laws should repeal them, as such laws have a stifling impact on the enjoyment of freedom of religion or belief, and healthy dialogue and debate about religion.”[24] According to the think tank The Future of Free Speech, “Denmark has given official support to [the interpretations of these international agreements] in statements by government ministers, UN Ambassadors and by signing the 2019 Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom.”[25]

Finally, perhaps most concerning, by passing the law, Denmark has given credence to the notion that violent rhetoric and extremism can successfully bring about political change. Denmark essentially chose to surrender its citizens’ right to freedom of expression to appease authoritarian, fundamentalist regimes – most notably, Iran.[26] The law also validates the decades-long efforts of Organization of Islamic Cooperation at the United Nations, referenced above, to criminalize blasphemy under international human rights law.[27] The effort was seemingly repudiated in 2011 when the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution that  “stressed the primary importance of counter speech and education as the first line of defense against the very real phenomenon of religious intolerance and negative stereotyping.”[28] It also made clear that human rights law protects people and not ideologies, and it stressed that only the incitement of imminent violence should be criminalized.[29] Denmark deviating from these principles is a win for fundamentalist regimes hostile to freedom of speech.[30]

Not only has Denmark violated several of its obligations under international law, but it has also sent a message to religious fundamentalists around the world that violent intimidation is a legitimate way to bring about political change. It is a disappointing development for those who support the right to freedom of speech and expression.

[1] Louise Rasmussen, Denmark Passes Law to Ban Koran Burnings, Reuters (Dec. 7, 2023), https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/danish-parliament-approves-bill-stop-koran-burnings-2023-12-07/#:~:text=COPENHAGEN%2C%20Dec%207%20(Reuters),book%20was%20burned%2C%20causing%20outrage.

[2] Aaron Boxerman, Denmark Moves to Ban Quran Burnings After Muslim Outrage, N.Y. Times (Aug. 25, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/25/world/europe/denmark-quran-burning.html.

[3] Id.   

[4] Maya Tekeli & Emma Bubola, Denmark, Fearing Reprisals, Bans Quran Burning, N.Y. Times (Dec. 7, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/07/world/europe/denmark-quran-burning-ban.html.

[5] Adam Taylor, How the Quran Burners Got the Global Attention They Wanted, Wash. Post. (Aug. 3, 2023), https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/08/03/sweden-quran-burning-denmark-islam-stunt-global-attention/; Tekeli & Bubola, supra note 4.

[6] Christian Edwards, Sweden and Denmark Consider Ban On Quran-burning Protests As Security Fears Rise, CNN (Aug. 2, 2023), https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/02/europe/quran-burning-protest-denmark-sweden-intl/index.html.

[7] Tekeli & Bubola, supra note 4.

[8] Id.

[9] Paul Kirby, Denmark Plans Jail Term for Burning Quran in Public, BBC (Aug. 25, 2023), https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66602814.

[10] News Wires, Denmark Adopts Law Banning Burning of Koran and Other Holy Texts, France 24 (Dec. 7, 2023), https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20231207-denmark-adopts-law-banning-burning-of-koran-and-other-holy-texts; Jan M. Olsen, Denmark’s Parliament Adopts a Law Making it Illegal to Burn the Quran or Other Religious Texts, Associated Press (Dec 7, 2023), https://apnews.com/article/denmark-desecration-law-holy-texts-quran-931120e5463a3e15c372a13c862aa775.

[11] Rasmussen, supra note 1.

[12] Tekeli & Bubola, supra note 4.

[13] Rasmussen, supra note 1.

[14] Olsen, supra note 10.

[15] Id.

[16] See Jacob Mchangama, Denmark and Sweden’s Commitment to Free Speech Is Wilting in the Face of Quran Burnings, Time (Aug. 9, 2023), https://time.com/6302649/denmark-swedens-quran-burnings-commitment-to-free-speech/.

[17] Public Hearing on Danish Ban of Improper Treatment of Objects of Significant Religious Significance to a Religious Community, The Future of Free Speech (Sept. 9, 2023), https://futurefreespeech.org//public-hearing-on-danish-ban-of-improper-treatment-of-objects-of-significant-religious-significance-to-a-religious-community/#:~:text=of%20Free%20Speech-,Public%20hearing%20on%20danish%20ban%20of%20improper%20treatment%20of%20objects,significance%20to%20a%20religious%20community&text=Restricts%20freedom%20of%20expression%3A%20The,symbolic%20expressions%20critical%20of%20religion

[18] Id.

[19] Id.

[20] Id.

[21] Id.

[22] Id.

[23] Id.

[24] Id.

[25] Id.

[26] Danish Parliament Outlaws Burning Quran and Other Religious Texts, National Secular Society (Dec. 12, 2023), https://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2023/12/danish-parliament-outlaws-burning-quran-and-other-religious-texts.

[27] Public Hearing on Danish Ban of Improper Treatment of Objects of Significant Religious Significance to a Religious Community, supra note 17.

[28] Id.

[29] Id.

[30] Mchangama, supra note 16.