Denmark’s parliament on Thursday passed a law making it illegal to burn the Quran in public places, seeking to deescalate tensions with Muslim countries after a spate of Danish protests during which Islam’s holy book was burned, causing outrage.

Denmark and Sweden experienced a series of public protests this year where anti-Islam activists burned or otherwise damaged copies of the Quran, triggering demands that the Nordic governments ban the practice.

The Danish authorities said that the burnings put the country in a difficult diplomatic situation, and that the government could not just sit idle.

Desecration of the Quran is now banned both in the public space and in private if the act is recorded and distributed.

The vote followed a five hour debate in parliament and 94 members voted in favour, 77 against.

Breaking the new law will be punishable by fines or up to two years in prison, the government has said.

With anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment widespread, there have been more than 500 demonstrations in Denmark since July, according to Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard, including some where the Quran was burned.

“Such demonstrations can hurt Denmark’s relations to other nations, our interests and ultimately our safety,” Hummelgaard said.

Denmark has sought to strike a balance between constitutionally protected freedom of speech, including the right to criticize religion, and national security amid fears that Quran burnings would trigger attacks by Islamists.

Domestic critics in Sweden and Denmark have argued that any limitations on criticizing religion, including by burning Qurans, undermine hard-fought liberal freedoms in the region.

Denmark’s centrist coalition government has argued that the new rules will have only a marginal impact on free speech and that criticizing religion in other ways remains legal.

Sweden is also considering how to prevent burning of the Quran but is looking at whether police should factor in national security when deciding on protest applications rather than a ban.

Source: Reuters