This Friday, many eyes will be on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, for a historic trial: Two men are accused of "improper treatment of a religious scripture." They are accused of having burned a copy of the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, in front of an audience at a folk festival in June 2024, as well as livestreaming this on the social platform Facebook. The Danish public prosecutors have so far not released any details about the identity of the two defendants, nor the exact course of events. They have, however, said that a verdict is expected on the same day.

The trial, which will take place in Bornholm's largest town Ronne, is the first of its kind since a new law that criminalizes the "inappropriate treatment" of religious scripture, including the Bible, the Quran, and the Torah among others, came into force on December 7, 2023.

"Inappropriate treatment" includes defiling, tearing and trampling religious texts, as well as burning them. Penalties range from fines to two years' imprisonment depending on the severity of the charges.

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