Charlie Hebdo’s lawyer: ‘Penalizing Quran burnings means embarking on an extraordinarily dangerous path’
by LeMonde_en
Charlie Hebdo’s lawyer: ‘Penalizing Quran burnings means embarking on an extraordinarily dangerous path’
by LeMonde_en
3 comments
**With Denmark planning to ban the public desecration of religious objects, lawyer Richard Malka protests against the country bowing to pressure from regimes such as Syria and Iran, which have little respect for human rights.**
This is not happening in 17th century Denmark, but today. In 2023, progressive Denmark, the flower of European social democracy, will reinstate (while claiming otherwise) the crime of blasphemy − with imprisonment a possible punishment.
Ironically, this medieval offense was removed from the Danish penal code just six years ago after a lengthy debate, putting an end to a 344-year ban on offending God. According to the justice minister, this U-turn is justified by national security imperatives. We’re talking about the crisis of the Quran burnings, the latest season of the clash of civilizations, written by bad screenwriters. And since we never learn from the past, we fall for it, to the point of folly. It’s not the trap set by a few activists that’s maddening – we’ll never be able to prevent that – but the lack of reflection, memory, perspective and moderation on the part of so many heads of state and religious dignitaries.
Over the past few months, two Iraqi political refugees in Sweden, who claim to be atheists, have been carrying out spectacular Quran burnings in the presence of the press. They threaten to continue their desecrations, which have included trampling on the sacred book and inserting slices of bacon in its pages, until the Quran, which they consider “more dangerous than nuclear weapons,” is banned. At the very least, they call for the removal of “the verses on murder.” But when it comes down to it, it doesn’t really matter what their motives are.
Far-right parties in Sweden and Denmark followed suit. These two countries, whose authorities have firmly condemned the Quran burners, were met with an avalanche of threatening rebukes. These came from regimes with leaders who seem to believe that if a person who expresses a transgressive opinion is not immediately burned (as in Pakistan), hanged (Iran) or beheaded ( Saudi Arabia), the country where they live must share their opinion. Accepting this insane logic, Denmark – and perhaps soon Sweden, which has repeatedly banned public burnings of the Quran this year – is proposing legislation to punish the “improper treatment of objects of significant religious importance to a religious community” with two years of imprisonment and a fine. It is as if thought had finally given in to religious pressure.
**Read the full op-ed here:** [**https://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2023/09/03/charlie-hebdo-s-lawyer-penalizing-quran-burnings-means-embarking-on-an-extraordinarily-dangerous-path_6122010_23.html**](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2023/09/03/charlie-hebdo-s-lawyer-penalizing-quran-burnings-means-embarking-on-an-extraordinarily-dangerous-path_6122010_23.html)
Yes a path where provoking extremists and hate crimes is not a sport.
What if someone just streams a private burning? Is that covered by the law? I doubt there’s a clear definition for what desecration means. So are we just gonna ban anything that these people get sensitive about?
The point is: there are a million other ways of insulting those who’s minds are stuck in the 7th century.