Denmark: Man to be charged with blasphemy after burning a copy of Quran

The death knell of the West. This is the islamization of the West. Sharia in the West.

The Quran is, above all else, a manifesto for misogyny, hatred, genocide and bloody violence. Vile though it is, Hitler’s Mein Kampf pales in comparison.

I do not believe in burning books. The antidote for bad speech is more speech, not book burning. Burning books always comes with bad memories – but criminal penalties for disposing of your own property?

Man becomes the first person in Denmark to be charged with blasphemy for 46 years after burning a copy of the Koran

• The 42-year-old suspect burned the Koran in his backyard in northern Denmark
• He posted posted a clip of the incident on an anti-Muslim Facebook page
• The crime is punishable by imprisonment for up to four months or fine

By Hannah Al-Othman For MailOnline, 23 February 2017:

A Danish man has been charged with blasphemy after he allegedly burned a copy of the Koran and posted a video of the incident on Facebook.

The 42-year-old suspect burned the Koran in his backyard in northern Denmark in December and posted the video on an anti-Muslim Facebook page.

He posted put the clip, entitled ‘Consider your neighbour: it stinks when it burns’ to a group called ‘YES TO FREEDOM – NO TO ISLAM’.

Prosecutor Jan Reckendorff said it was the first time since 1971 that a person was charged for ‘publicly mocking a religious community’s religious doctrines or worship,’ adding that the crime is punishable by imprisonment for up to four months or fine.

The 42-year-old suspect burned the Koran in his backyard in northern Denmark in December

Speaking from the public prosecutor’s office in Viborg, he said: ‘It is the prosecution’s view that circumstances involving the burning of holy books such as the Bible and the Quran can in some cases be a violation of the blasphemy clause, which covers public scorn or mockery of religion.

‘It is our opinion that the circumstances of this case mean it should be prosecuted so the courts now have an opportunity to take a position on the matter.’

Judges in Aalborg will hear the case, although no date for a trial was set.

Under clause 140 of Denmark’s penal code, publicly insulting or degrading religious books is punishable with imprisonment or fines.

The last time a prosecution was brought was in 1971 when two producers for Denmark Radio producers were hauled before the courts after airing a song mocking Christianity. They were later acquitted.

Only four blasphemy prosecutions have ever been attempted in Denmark, but the country decided to keep its blasphemy law two years ago after carrying out a review.

 Judges in the town of Aalborg in northern Denmark, pictured, will hear the case, although no date for a trial was set

At the time, Vega Saenz from Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs saod the law had been kept in order to protect religious expression, protect minorities and sustain societal order.

In 1946, two Danes were fined after acting out a ‘baptism’ at a ball in capital Copenhagen, while in 1938, four people were sentenced for putting up anti-Semitic propaganda.

There have also been several others cases that have been considered by prosecutors, before they ultimately decided not to bring charges.

One of the most well known was in 2006 when prosecutors launched an investigation into newspaper Jyllands-Posten over a controversial set of caricatures entitled ‘The Face of Mohamed’. However, they later decided not to take any action.