
Denmark on Friday said it plans to ban Quran burnings after a string of desecrations of the book in the Scandinavian nation sparked anger in Muslim countries, AFP reports.
The government will present a bill that will "prohibit the inappropriate treatment of objects of significant religious importance to a religious community," Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard told reporters.
He said the legislation was aimed especially at burnings and desecrations in public places.
Hummelgaard said Quran burnings were a "fundamentally contemptuous and unsympathetic act" that "harm Denmark and its interests".
The new legislation would be included in chapter 12 of Denmark's penal code, which covers national security.
Hummelgaard said that the national security was the main "motivation" for the ban.
The legislation will also apply to desecrations of the Bible, the Torah or, for example, a crucifix. Those who break the law risk a fine and two years in prison.
In late July, Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the government will seek to make it illegal to desecrate the Quran or other religious holy books in front of foreign embassies in the Nordic country.
Earlier this week, Iran's foreign ministry summoned the Swedish and Danish charges d'affaires in Tehran to protest the burning and damaging of copies of the Quran in the two countries.
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