The Blurred Lines of Freedom of Expression:

Analysing Desecration of the Holy Qur’an between Constitutional Guarantees and Illegality of Incitement to Hatred against Religious Minorities

Mahmoud Masud

Mohamed Saer Rahal

 

Abstract: This article critically interrogates the legitimacy of the desecration of the Holy Qur’an as a form of freedom of expression. It engages with the complex debates surrounding the harm inflicted by such acts, particularly to Muslim minorities who live in European countries such as Sweden and Denmark, where freedom of expression is constitutionally and legally prioritised. In these countries, arguing that the desecration of the Qur’an has crossed critical debate has become increasingly onerous. Drawing on a wide range of authoritative sources, including relevant decisions and perspectives of, inter alia, the European Court of Human Rights (the ECtHR hereinafter), the Human Rights Council, and recent reforms in Denmark, this article delineates the political, legal and humanitarian boundaries transgressed by the desecration of the Qur’an. Despite the escalating prevalence of both political and nonpolitical religious hatred, discrimination, and violence, Sweden persists in classifying the desecration of the Qur’an as a legitimate exercise of expression, despite recent attempts to convict foreign perpetrators. The complexity of this underscores the obligation imposed by international human rights law on states, including Sweden, to reconsider the balance between the right to freedom of expression and the rights of others and for Denmark to provide further clarification on specific reformed terms. Thus, central to this debate is, on one hand, the tension between combating religious discrimination for the protection of religious minorities from hate and violence, and, on the other hand, protecting the legitimate value of freedom of expression.