Two European countries, Denmark and Sweden, are in the world's spotlight after a series of acts of defamation and contempt for the holy Qur'an by their citizens. The action that angered the Islamic world was not without the knowledge of the local police. On several occasions, the police even allowed the action.
Now the Swedish government is starting to consider a ban on burning the Koran. This plan was reflected after Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen held a meeting on Sunday (30/7/2023). The two meet to find a solution to find a way to fight free speech laws that allow the burning of holy books to occur repeatedly.
"We share the same analysis: the current situation is dangerous and steps are needed to strengthen our resilience," Kristersson said, as quoted by CNN Indonesia from the Financial Times.
Kristersson also explained that the Swedish government had begun to analyze the legal situation, including the law on public order, regarding the burning of holy books. "With the aim of exploring the scope of measures that will strengthen our national security and Sweden's security in Sweden and abroad," he said.
Previously, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also expressed that he was very worried after the police received many requests to hold anti-Islam demonstrations in Sweden. Kristersson fears that such protests could result in the burning of the Muslim holy book, the Koran.
“If they are approved, we have several days with a clear risk that serious things could happen,” Kristersson said during a press conference on Thursday (27/7/2023), as quoted by Deutsche Welle (DW).
Kristersson's warning echoes a similar statement from the head of the domestic intelligence service, Sweden's SAPO, Charlotte von Essen. Essen says such protests raise security risks. He called Sweden a "priority" target among Islamists after the recent desecration of the Koran.
"Sweden has gone from being seen as a tolerant country to being an anti-Islamic country," said the Swedish intelligence boss.
Like Sweden, the Danish government is also finally considering legally stopping the burning of various holy books, including the Koran, in demonstrations. The Danish government stated that they had started to consider this option after seeing the trend of extremists using freedom of expression rules in demonstrations to burn the Koran.
The Danish Foreign Ministry said the government wanted to "explore" preventing situations of "other countries, cultures and religions being humiliated, where these situations could have a negative impact on Denmark, including in relation to security."
"This of course must be carried out within a constitutional framework that guarantees freedom of opinion and in a way that does not change the fact that freedom of expression in Denmark is broad in scope," said a statement by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted by AFP, Sunday (31/7/2023).
