Denmark Fines Two, Including Rasmus Paludan, for Desecrating Holy Quran Under New Law

On May 17, 2025, a Danish court fined two men, including Rasmus Paludan, leader of the anti-Islamic party Stram Kurs, 10,000 kroner ($1,500) each for desecrating the Holy Quran. The incident involved tearing pages from an English edition of the Quran and dropping the book into a puddle of water, which was broadcast live on Facebook. This marked the first convictions under Denmark’s law banning the “inappropriate treatment of a religious text,” enacted in December 2023 following a series of Quran desecrations that sparked international outrage. The law prohibits burning, tearing, or otherwise defiling holy texts publicly or in widely disseminated videos, with penalties including fines or up to two years in prison.