Rasmus Paludan, leader of the right-wing political party Stram Kurs, listens from the press seats during a meeting in the Danish Parliament for the first reading of a proposed bill that would make it illegal to burn copies of the Koran in public places, at Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Credit: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix/via Reuters
Denmark's parliament passed a bill on Thursday that makes it illegal to burn copies of the Koran in public places after protests in Muslim nations over the desecration of Islam's holy book raised Danish security concerns.
Denmark and Sweden experienced a series of public protests this year where anti-Islam activists burned or otherwise damaged copies of the Koran, sparking tensions with Muslims and triggering demands that the Nordic governments ban the practice.
Domestic critics in Sweden and Denmark have argued that any limitations on criticising religion, including by burning Korans, undermine hard-fought liberal freedoms in the region.
Denmark's centrist coalition government has argued that the new rules will have only a marginal impact on free speech and that criticising religion in other ways remains legal.