The Quran burnings in front of different embassies from Islamic countries in Copenhagen have triggered an international incident. Danish diplomacy needs to work very hard to restore diplomatic connections with the 57 Muslim countries. The first step will be to reintroduce part of the “Blasphemy Act,” which will make it illegal to burn religious books in front of embassies.
As the Foreign Minister of Denmark puts it, the timing and intensity of the burnings are strange. We are in a time of war, and there is a race for influence around the globe. Africa, the Muslim world, and Latin America have not clearly chosen sides.
The Foreign Minister also says that while we celebrate freedom of speech in Denmark, we need to be aware of how that freedom can impact others. Burning different religious books in front of the embassies where that religion is official is nothing more than mockery.
Funny enough, the current foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, was the one that made this situation possible by taking out of the law the “blasphemy act” in 2017 (when he was prime minister).
