On Saturday, Pakistan expressed its approval of a plan proposed by the Danish government that would make it illegal to burn copies of the Holy Quran or other religious literature.
They called it a “step in the right direction” from the Foreign Office.
A terrible act of religious hatred, the sacrilege and burning of holy scriptures must not be tolerated under the cover of freedom of expression, opinion, and protest, as Pakistan has always insisted. The FO issued a statement saying that such provocative acts “must be prevented and prohibited through legal means, as stipulated by international human rights law and called for by the UN Human Rights Council.”
Islamabad hoped that Denmark’s actions “would culminate in effective legislation to curb the desecration of the Holy Quran and other divine books.”
Denmark to outlaw the burning of the Holy Quran
There was also a call for “similar steps” to be taken by other countries to criminalise hate speech.
In a conversation with his Danish counterpart, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani voiced his support for the Danish Government’s proposed legislation and expressed his hope that its passage would lead to greater religious tolerance and understanding.
Following outrage from Muslim countries over a series of desecrations of the Holy Quran in Denmark, the Scandinavian country announced on Friday that it would prohibit such acts in the future.
Both Denmark and its neighbouring country of Sweden, which has also seen an uptick in incidents involving the burning of Holy Qurans, increased security measures earlier this month in response to the backlash.
According to Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard, “the improper treatment of objects of significant religious importance to a religious community” will soon be a crime in Denmark.
