{"id":122388,"date":"2023-12-15T12:50:19","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T12:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cottontailsonline.com\/?p=122388"},"modified":"2023-12-15T12:50:19","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T12:50:19","slug":"law-banning-quran-burning-in-denmark-slammed-as-return-to-1940s-censorship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cottontailsonline.com\/world-news\/law-banning-quran-burning-in-denmark-slammed-as-return-to-1940s-censorship\/","title":{"rendered":"Law banning Quran burning in Denmark slammed as return to 1940s censorship"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Banning the act of burning the Quran, Islam’s central religious text, marks a restriction of freedom of speech unseen in Denmark in decades, according to an MEP.<\/p>\n

Anders Vistisen, MEP for the right-wing and nationalist Danish People’s Party, voiced his party’s opposition to the law newly approved by Parliament in Denmark, which makes it illegal to burn religious books in public places.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Express.co.uk, Mr Vistisen claimed his country hadn’t experienced a similar move on freedom of speech since the occupation of Denmark by Nazi Germany in the 1940s. He said: “We haven’t seen any such attempts to regulate and ban freedom of speech in decades, the general tendency had been to widen the room for freedom of speech, not to make it smaller.”<\/p>\n

What makes this legislation even more egregious in Mr Vistisen’s eyes is that “it is a demand that comes from the outside”.<\/p>\n

The MEP referred to widespread calls by Muslim countries and associations to ban the practice of publicly burning the Quran as a form of protest – to which the Parliament in Copenhagen “caved in”, he said. Following the many demonstrations in Denmark and Sweden\u00a0over the past few months involving damaging sacred texts, marches protesting the burning of the Quran were held in countries with a population largely Muslim, including Iraq and Pakistan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong> Hamas terror plot foiled – Mossad says seven arrested planning attack on Europe<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The Danish Parliament, Folketinget, passed the legislation against burning the Quran earlier this month, at the end of a year which saw a series of public protests led by anti-Islam activists damaging copies of the sacred book.<\/p>\n

More than 500 demonstrations during which copies of the Quran or flags were burnt have been registered since July in the Scandinavian nation, according to Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard. He also said: “Such demonstrations can hurt Denmark’s relations to other nations, our interests and ultimately our safety.”<\/p>\n

The minister had previously said in August he believed there are “more civilised ways to express one’s views than burning things”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Also in August, Danish police tightened border controls in fear of revenge attacks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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