Just a day after demonstrators desecrated the Holy Book in front of the Iraqi embassy in Denmark, more copies of the Quran were burnt in front of the Egyptian and Turkish embassies in Copenhagen Tuesday, anguishing Muslims all over the world.
In a statement indicating clean-chit to the perpetrators of such acts under so-called freedom of speech, Denmark and Sweden said they deplore the burning but cannot prevent it as it falls under rules of “protecting freedom of speech”.
Tuesday’s demonstration in Copenhagen by a group called “Danish Patriots” followed Quran burnings the group staged Monday and last week in front of the Iraqi embassy. Two such incidents have taken place in Sweden over the past month.
Iraq’s foreign ministry Monday called on authorities of EU countries to “quickly reconsider so-called freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate in light of the Quran burnings.”
Turkiye Monday said it strongly condemned what it called a “despicable attack” on the Quran and called on Denmark to take necessary measures to prevent this “hate crime” against Islam.
The Egyptian foreign ministry Tuesday summoned Sweden’s charge d’affaires to condemn the desecration of the Qurans.
“People benefit from an extended freedom of speech when they demonstrate,” University of Copenhagen law Professor Trine Baumbach told Reuters, explaining Danish laws.
“It does not just include verbal expression. People can express themselves in various ways, such as through the burning of items.”
