The Danish government said on Friday that it will propose legislation to ban the burning of the Quran after several incidents that have prompted outrage throughout the Middle East.
Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said the government seeks to expand its law that prohibits burning foreign flags to prohibit “improper treatment of objects of significant religious significance.” The bill would make it illegal to burn the Quran and the Bible as part of “actions in a public place or with the intention of spreading in a wider circle,” he said, according to The Associated Press. Hummulgaard said that freedom of expression will remain “a cornerstone of Danish democracy.”
The proposal came in response to the Danish government determining that Denmark is becoming viewed as a country that facilitates insults toward religion.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the charge d’affaires of the Danish Embassy in Ankara on Friday for the sixth time this month, the official Anadolu Agency reported. The report acknowledged the Danish government’s plans to ban the Quran burnings.
