Denmark Moves to Ban Quran Burnings
In Denmark and western democracies beyond it, free speech has been exploited as a Trojan Horse for Islamophobic expression and activities – including Quran burnings.
Burning Qurans has become a common occurrence in Denmark. Over the past month alone, 170 anti-Muslim protests have been staged in Denmark. The most popular sites for these hateful spectacles are in front of the embassies of Muslim-majority nations in Copenhagen, which often climax with a burning of the Quran.
These public displays of hate have spilled beyond Denmark’s borders, into nearby Sweden, intended to provoke Muslim populations and raise the underbelly of Islamophobia into the mainstream. In addition to inciting hate crimes, Quran burnings serve as recruitment tools for far-right groups in Denmark, which scapegoat Muslim immigrants for everything from economic struggles to terrorism.
On Friday, in response to the dangerous uptick of Quran burnings, Denmark introduced a bill that would criminalize such acts. The law, if enacted, would also punish the destruction of other religious texts. However, the potential law is spurred on by the pervasive attacks on Muslims and the faith’s holy book, which have been enabled by the convergence of mainstreamed Islamophobia and Denmark’s commitment to unfettered free speech.
In Denmark and western democracies beyond it, free speech has been exploited as a Trojan Horse for Islamophobic expression and activities – including Quran burnings.
In the United States, far right pundits, politicians and even presidents have vilified Islam as an “uncivilized” religion under the banner of free speech, leading to the introduction of “Sharia Law” and Muslim bans. In France, and Denmark, newspapers use the carte blanche commitment to free speech to publish demeaning caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, Islam’s final messenger. These cartoons, like the Quran burnings, were primarily intended to provoke Muslim communities living on the margins of French or Danish society, who are simultaneously stigmatized by the government policy and the unrelenting strokes of media coverage.
Free speech, in principle, is not free range for punching down on already pummeled communities. Particularly when the form of expression, such as Quran burnings, offer little to value to public or political discourses. Rather, the vile public performance of lighting a Quran on fire are intended to shame Muslims, and by design, aim to incite Muslims to respond violently in ways that perpetuate the looming stereotypes of violence and terrorism.
The measure introduced in Denmark recognizes this. It also recognizes the transnational effect of these Quran burnings, which have created foreign policy complications for the Scandinavian nation.
The Organization of Islamic States (OIC), comprised of 57 Muslim-majority, held a special convening condemning Denmark (and Sweden) for sanctioning the Quran burnings. Qatar, Kuwait, and wealthy Arab nations have joined in on the criticism, creating political pitfalls for Denmark on the global stage.
“This has put Denmark in difficult foreign policy situations,” stated Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, Denmark’s Deputy Minister, acknowledging how domestic protection of “free speech” clashes with foreign policy interests.
The pressure from Muslim-majority nations and organizations, like the OIC, demonstrate the important of external pressure. And namely, how the conditions for Muslim minorities in western nations – where Islamophobia is robust and rising – can be positively impacted by collective action.
Islamophobia has been rotten in the state of Denmark for decades, reaching teeming levels with the parade of Quran burnings staged by Rasmus Paludan and copycat actors in the region. This new proposal seeking to criminalize these plays, which could imprison their culprits for up to two years, is the Danish government’s first good faith attempt to stand on the right side of the Islamophobic divide.
The coming months will determine whether the bill evolves into standing law, or if the stench of burned Qurans will continue to loom over the streets of Copenhagen and Danish spaces beyond.
Khaled A. Beydoun is a law professor at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, and author of several books, most recently The New Crusades: Islamophobia and the Global War on Muslims.
Lol I am really supposed to feel bad for the countries of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar in regards to their lack of civil rights? And your suggestion that the violence is justified by the actions of the provocateur shows how backwards your thinking is.
Burning a book - any book - in public is, indeed a provocation (to those who accept to be provoked). It should be sanctioned for what it is: a bad idea. But not more. There are other ways to express our disagreement with the content of the Quran. Like writing books ... But that would require some effort.
This said, I am surprised that a professor of law would use the term «islamophobia» to describe the dislike of Islam tenets. A phobia, if my sources (the DSM V) is correct, is a mental disorder, more specifically classified as an «anxiety disorder». More importantly, it is a fear of something or of a situation out of proportion with the cause of the fear. Thus, for someone to suffer from islamophobia, that would require two things. First, this individual should be diagnosed as having a mental disorder, second, the object of his/her fear should not be threatening to a normal individual. But how a normal individual would not feel threatened by the actions of Islam inspired fanatics of the last 25 years ? This fear is not «out of proportion» with its cause. As long as Islam inspires the beheading of «infidels», «blasphemers» and the like, any sensible man or woman will fear Islam. This fear will stop when Islamic clerics stop to defend barbarous practices and distribute terrible fatwas to those who disagree with them. Not a minute before.