Back in 2005 the Danish government took a stand in defence of free speech over the right of a newspaper to carry cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. Now the Danish and Swedish governments are once again confronted with a thorny issue after a number of public burnings of the Koran by right-wing nationalist provocateurs in Copenhagen and Stockholm.
The result has again been protests at home and in the Islamic world, including an attack on the Danish embassy in Iraq, which was set on fire, while the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has met to condemn the burnings. Last week, it suspended the status of the Swedish representative to the OIC and Iraq has expelled its Swedish ambassador.
Despite long-established constitutional protection of free speech, both governments have strongly deplored the burnings. They have said that this time, citing security concerns, they intend to explore legal means of stopping protests involving the public burning of holy texts.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson says he is anxious to act against states and individuals who are “taking advantage of” Europe’s most tense security situation in many years .
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The burnings have also prompted renewed debate on hate speech at the UN Human Rights Council which has passed an emergency, contested resolution deploring “desecration of sacred books and religious symbols”. Controversially, it sought to equate all such acts with manifestations of religious hatred.
The European states on the council opposed the resolution, saying that it broke with a previous consensus that anti-religious hate-speech should best be tackled by open debate, and that any implied return to the use of anti-blasphemy measures would be counterproductive.
Pending Irish legislation on hate speech, which includes a prohibition of religious hate-speech, needs to be carefully scrutinised in this context. Ireland removed blasphemy provisions from the Constitution in 2018.