Following a 94-77 vote, the Denmark parliament on Thursday passed a law forbidding the public desecration of the Quran and other holy Books, saying offenders now face a fine or up to two years in prison.
According to Al Jazeera, the decision came after several burnings of the Qur’an, which caused a stir in Muslim countries.
Peter Hummelgaard, Denmark’s Minister of Justice, said the law was necessary to stop the systematic insults going on for a long time, adding that the law would protect the security of Denmark and the Danes.
The law defines desecration as “inappropriate treatment of writings with significant religious importance for a recognized religious community.”
This includes burning, tearing or otherwise defiling holy books publicly or in videos intended to be disseminated widely.
The law carries a penalty of a fine or up to two years in prison. The law will be evaluated after three years.
Between July 21 and October 24 of this year, 483 book burnings or flag burnings were reported in Denmark, according to the national police.
Denmark is not the only nation in Europe with legislation prohibiting the desecration of holy books. Denmark’s Ministry of Justice claims that eight other European nations—Belgium, Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Romania—have comparable legal systems.