Denmark has decided to tighten border controls due to security concerns spawned by recent Koran burnings by anti-Muslim groups and individuals.
Announcing the decision on Thursday evening, Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said the Koran burnings had affected the security situation in the country.
The move follows a similar decision by the Swedish government earlier this week. It comes just days after the Danish government announced - on Sunday - that it wanted to limit any further demonstrations involving the desecration of the Koran, because of the security problems involved.
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Stressing that such demonstrations play into the hands of extremists and sow division, the Danish government said it intended to “explore” the possibility of intervening in situations “where, for example, other countries, cultures and religions are insulted, and which may have significant negative consequences for Denmark, particularly in terms of security,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“This must, of course, be done within the framework of constitutionally protected freedom of expression,” it added, stressing that this was one of Denmark’s most important values.
Several recent demonstrations in Sweden and Denmark involving the burning or other desecrations of the Muslim holy book have raised diplomatic tensions between the two countries and the Middle East.
The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the demonstrations had “reached a level where Denmark, in many parts of the world, is perceived as a country that facilitates the insulting and denigration of other countries’ cultures, religions and traditions.”
The “main aim” of some of these demonstrations was to provoke and they “could have significant consequences,” it added.
Danish and Swedish envoys have been summoned by a large number of countries in the Middle East.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has issued a resolution condemning the burnings of the holy Koran in Sweden and Denmark and called on measures to stop the repetition of such acts under the pretext of freedom of expression. The burnings of the Koran in Sweden have delayed Sweden’s application for joining NATO.
In a separate statement, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Sunday that he had been in close contact with his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen, pointing out that a similar process was already underway in Sweden.
“We have also started to analyse the legal situation in order to consider measures to strengthen our national security and the security of Swedes in Sweden and around the world,” Kristersson said in a message on Instagram.
Sweden on Thursday ordered its armies and administrations to step up their preparations against terrorism against a backdrop of deteriorating security, following several episodes in which the Koran was desecrated.
