COPENHAGEN: A Danish court on Friday fined two men 10,000 kroner ($1,500) each for desecrating the Holy Quran, including the leader of an anti-Islamic party.

The men were found to have violated a law banning “inappropriate treatment of a religious text”, which was implemented in Dec 2023.

The law was drafted after protests that involved desecrations and burnings of the Holy Quran in Denmark and Sweden sparked anger in several Muslim countries.

According to the ruling, one of the two men, born in 1988, tore pages from an English edition before dropping the book into a puddle of water.

The incident was broadcast live on the Facebook page of the anti-Islamic party Stram Kurs, led by Rasmus Paludan — the other person fined.

Paludan said he had appealed the ruling.

The court found the defendants had “acted together”, it said in its ruling.

Danish law specifically prohibits burning, desecrating or tearing pages from religious texts.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2025