Quran burning in Sweden prompts debate on the fine line between freedom of expression and incitement of hatred
The spate of Quran-burning incidents followed an act of desecration by far-right activist Rasmus Paludan on Jan. 21, 2023, in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
- The spate of Quran-burning incidents followed an act of desecration by far-right activist Rasmus Paludan on Jan. 21, 2023, in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
- On Aug. 25, Denmark’s government said it would “criminalize” desecration of religious objects and moved a bill banning the burning of scriptures.
- As a scholar of European studies, I’m interested in how modern European societies are trying to navigate the fine line between freedom of expression and the need to prevent incitement of hatred; a few are introducing laws specifically addressing hate speech.
Death penalty for insulting God and church
- For instance, the Danish Code from 1683 punished people by cutting off their tongue, head or hands.
- In 1636, English Puritan settlers in Massachusetts instituted the penalty of death for blasphemy.
- Advocating for a strict separation of church and state, France became the first country to repeal its blasphemy law in 1881.
European landscape of blasphemy laws
- Several countries in Europe retain blasphemy laws, but their approaches are highly varied.
- Often the laws may not prevent present-day acts like dishonoring of religious texts.
- Austria and Switzerland have laws quite similar to Germany’s in this regard.
- This case later went up to the European Court of Human Rights, which supported the Viennese court’s decision.
Contemporary debate
- A few countries are introducing new legislation to curb hate speech against religious communities.
- Sweden passed a hate speech law in 1970 protecting racial, ethnic, religious and sexual minorities.
- Because of the existing hate speech law focusing on incitement against minorities rather than religions, the activist received a fine from the police.
A global challenge
- Even in the U.S., there’s an ongoing debate about the boundaries of free speech.
- The First Amendment of the Constitution allows free speech, which some can interpret as the right to burn holy books.
- Scholar of law and religion Jane Wise suggested that the U.S. could follow the English example by banning hate speech.
- As societies change, I believe it has become important to recognize when freedom of speech has turned into promoting hatred.