Anti-Islam activists in Denmark and Sweden have burned or damaged several copies of the Muslim holy book in recent months, prompting outrage in the Muslim world and demands that the Nordic governments ban such acts.

Governments in both countries have condemned the burnings and said they are considering new laws aimed at preventing such acts.

“Iran lays the full responsibility and the serious repercussions of the Holy Koran’s desecration on the Swedish and Danish governments,” state media cited the head of the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s human rights department as saying.

Authorities fear revenge attacks after anti-Islam activists in Denmark and Sweden burned and damaged several copies of the Muslim holy book in recent months, inciting outrage in the Muslim world and demands that governments ban such acts.

“Authorities have today concluded that it is necessary at this time to increase the focus on who is entering Denmark, in order to respond to the specific and current threats,” the Danish justice ministry said in a statement late on Thursday.

A small group of Danish far-right activists has burned at least ten copies of the Koran in the past week and said it plans to burn more Korans at two demonstrations on Friday and at three more events over the weekend.

The Danish and Swedish governments have condemned the burnings and are considering new laws that could stop them. But domestic critics say any such decisions would undermine freedom of speech that is protected in their constitutions.

Denmark’s tighter border controls will initially be in place until Aug. 10.

“The recent Koran burnings have, as the security police have said, affected the current security situation,” Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said.

The decision to tighten border controls with more checks of travellers arriving in Denmark follows a similar move by Sweden.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen late on Thursday said religious texts should not be burned.

“I think it would be wrong if someone stood there and burned the Bible. I also don’t think we should burn the Torah for the sake of those who belong to the Jewish faith,” Frederiksen told public broadcaster DR.

Muslims view the Koran as the literal word of God and actual or alleged desecration of the holy book often sparks protests in the Muslim world.

Denmark and Sweden have seen several protests in recent weeks where copies of the Koran have been burned, or otherwise damaged, prompting outrage in Muslim countries, which have demanded the Nordic governments put a stop to the burnings.

The Danish government said on Sunday it would seek to find a “legal tool” that could enable authorities to intervene in such protests, if deemed to entail “significant negative consequences for Denmark, not least with regard to security”.

“The fact that we are signalling both in Denmark and abroad that we are working on it will hopefully help de-escalate the problems we are facing,” Rasmussen told journalists following a meeting with foreign policy speakers of parliament on Monday.

“It is not because we feel pressured to do so, but it is our political analysis that it is in the best interest of all of us,” Rasmussen said, adding: “We shouldn’t just sit and wait for this to explode.”

Even so, Koran burnings took place in both countries on Monday. In Stockholm an Iraqi refugee behind several protests in recent weeks appeared to burn a copy of the Koran outside the Swedish parliament. In Denmark, anti-Muslim protesters burned the Koran outside the Saudi Arabian embassy in Copenhagen, with several more planned for later in the day.

The Nordic countries have deplored the burnings of the Koran but cannot prevent it under constitutional laws protecting freedom of speech.

However, both governments have now said they are considering legal changes that would allow authorities to prevent further burnings in special situations.

The Swedish government said this month it is examining a similar solution but right-wing parties in both countries have denounced the initiatives, with some saying freedom of speech cannot be compromised.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said on Monday that he had sent letters to all 57 countries in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to explain Sweden’s right to assembly and condemned islamophobic acts.

OIC foreign ministers will convene in an extraordinary session on Monday to discuss the recent developments.

In a phone call, Fidan told his Swedish counterpart Tobias Billstrom that continuation of such “vile actions” under the guise of freedom of expression was unacceptable, the source said.

Fidan and Billstrom also discussed Sweden’s NATO military alliance membership application, the source added

In a phone call with his Danish counterpart Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Fidan condemned the “continuous vile attacks against the Koran”. He told Rasmussen it was unacceptable to allow such actions under the guise of freedom of expression, the source said.

Rasmussen on Saturday wrote on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter: “Turkey and Denmark are close allies. Important to not let these acts succeed in creating division.” He also reiterated Denmark’s “strong condemnation of these provocative acts by few individuals.”

The comments came after a small group of anti-Islam activists set fire to Korans in front of the Egyptian and Turkish embassies in Copenhagen on Tuesday, after similar protests in Denmark and Sweden over recent weeks.

Denmark and Sweden have deplored the burning of Islam’s holy book but say they cannot prevent it under rules protecting free speech.

Earlier this week, a small group of anti-Islam activists set fire to Korans in front of the Iraqi, Egyptian and Turkish embassies in Copenhagen.

The Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement the Danish charge d’affaires was handed an objection memo that “includes a demand from the Kingdom to stop the disgraceful acts that violate all religious teachings, laws and international norms.”

The ministry did not identify the Danish official by name.

Attacks on the Koran in Sweden and Denmark have offended many Muslim countries including Turkey, whose backing Sweden needs to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a goal of Stockholm’s following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Kristersson told Swedish news agency TT that further requests had been filed with police for permission to hold protests where desecration of the Koran was again planned.

“If they are granted, we are going to face some days where there is a clear risk of something serious happening. I am extremely worried about what it could lead to,” he said.

Sweden’s embassy in Baghdad was stormed and set ablaze on July 20 by protesters angered by a planned Koran burning.

Kristersson said the decision whether to grant permission for the demonstrations was up to the police.

Sweden’s security service, SAPO, has kept its assessment of the threat level at 3 on a scale of 5, signifying an “elevated threat” during the crisis, but its head said there had been a strong reaction to recent events.

‘Anti-Islamic Land’

“Sweden has gone from being seen as a tolerant country to being seen as an anti-Islamic land,” Charlotte von Essen told reporters on Thursday.

Denmark and Sweden have said they deplore the burning of the Koran but cannot prevent it under rules protecting free speech.

Sweden has accused other countries – such as Russia – of manipulating the crisis to damage its interests and its bid to join NATO.

“In some countries there is a perception that the Swedish state is behind or condone this. We don’t,” Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom told reporters on Thursday.

“These are acts committed by individuals, but they do it within the framework of freedom of speech laws,” he said.

Billstrom said he had been in touch with the foreign ministers of Iran, Iraq, Algeria and Lebanon among others as well as the United Nations secretary-general about the current crisis.

“And just now I will speak to the secretary-general for the Organisation of Islamic Countries,” Billstrom said.

“We will discuss these issues and it’s important to stress that this is a long-term issue, there are no quick fixes,” he

The government is facing a difficult balancing act in defending far-reaching freedom of speech laws, while at the same time avoiding potential insult to Muslims.

Its position is not made easier by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, whose support keeps the right-of-centre coalition in power though the party is not formally part of the government.

Members of Sweden Democrats, the biggest party on the right, have repeatedly warned about the “Islamization” of Swedish society and called for immigrants to adopt “Swedish” values.

Baghdad (Reuters) – Several thousand Iraqis demonstrated in Baghdad on Saturday over the burning or damaging of the Koran during anti-Islam protests in Sweden and Denmark, in a gathering called by ruling Iraqi parties and armed groups, many close to Iran.

Iran’s supreme leader said those desecrating the Koran should face the “most severe punishment” and that by defending perpetrators Sweden was gearing for “war” against Muslims

Many Muslim states have protested at insults to the Koran this week in protests in Sweden and Denmark, which both allow the book’s burning under legal protections for freedom of speech.

Protesters gathered in Baghdad amid heavy security measures, with bridges leading to the Green Zone that houses many foreign embassies shut after an attempt by demonstrators to get to the Danish Embassy in the early hours of Saturday.

That attempt, repelled by Iraqi security forces who fired tear gas according to a government source, came 48 hours after the Swedish Embassy was overrun and set alight in protest at a planned burning of the Koran in Stockholm.

Iraq condemned the attack on the Swedish Embassy but also expelled the Swedish ambassador in protest at the planned burning of the Koran, the central text of Islam which Muslims believe to be a revelation from God.

On Friday in Denmark, a man set fire to a book purported to be the Koran on a square across from the Iraqi Embassy in Copenhagen.

The event was livestreamed on the Facebook platform of a group that calls itself “Danish Patriots”. The video shows the book burning in a tin foil tray next to the Iraqi flag on the ground, with two onlookers standing and talking next to it.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen condemned it as an act of “stupidity” by a few individuals, telling national broadcaster DR: “It is a disgraceful act to insult the religion of others”.

“This applies to the burning of Korans and other religious symbols. It has no other purpose than to provoke and create division,” he said. He noted however that burning religious books was not a crime in Denmark.

Iran’s foreign ministry said it had summoned the Danish ambassador on Friday to protest.

Tehran urged Denmark and Sweden to take action, saying Muslims around the world expected the desecration to be stopped.

‘War On Muslim World’

During Thursday’s anti-Islam demonstration in Stockholm, protesters kicked and partially destroyed a book they said was the Koran but left the area without setting it alight.

The incident prompted Middle Eastern states including Saudi Arabia and Iran, respectively the region’s leading Sunni Arab and Shi’ite powers, to summon Swedish diplomats in protest.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei demanded Sweden hand over perpetrators to Islamic nations’ judiciaries.

“The Swedish government should know that by supporting the criminal who burnt the Holy Quran it has gone into battle array for war on the Muslim world,” he later tweeted.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said the Danish government was responsible for preventing insults to Muslim symbols, as well as punishing offenders. Muslims awaited practical action, he added in a statement on state media.

The Danish foreign ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.

Iran, which has delayed the posting of a new ambassador to Sweden, also said it was reciprocally not accepting a new Swedish envoy over the attacks on the Koran.

A Swedish government spokesperson said there was a phone conversation on Friday between the Swedish and Iranian foreign ministers, but declined to give details.

The Iraqi presidency meanwhile called in a statement for international organisations and Western governments “to stop incitement and hate practices, whatever their pretexts”.

It also warned Iraqis against being drawn into what it described as a “plot of sedition” which it said aimed to show Iraq was unsafe for foreign missions.

Up until Saturday evening, protests in Baghdad over the Koran burnings have been led by supporters of influential Shi’ite cleric Moqtada Sadr, a powerful figure opposed to the Iran-backed groups in government, and who analysts say is using the protests as a show of force.

The demonstration on Saturday evening was the first major action called by Iran-backed parties and armed groups that back the government.

Attendees were seen carrying the flags of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, a military-political group designated a terrorist organization by the United States, as well as pictures of the former commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by the United States in 2020.

The pope also expressed strong anger at acts such as Koran burning.