Planning To Burn The Qur'an Again When Ramadan Begins, Danish Politician Rasmus Paludan Is Prohibited From Entering England

Rasmus Paludan. (Wikimedia Commons/Jesper Ahlin Marceta)

JAKARTA - Denmark's far-right politician Rasmus Paludan is barred from entering England after threatening to return to burning copies of the Qur'an in Wakefield.

Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said Rasmus Paludan, founder of the anti-Islamic party Stram Kurs, had been put on the UK immigration watch list.

Paludan said he planned to burn the holy book in a public field in the city located in West Yorkshire this week.

This happened after four students at a school in Wakefield were suspended for damaging copies of the Qur'an.

In a video posted to Twitter on Sunday, Paludan said he would travel to the city to "fight" "undemocratic forces", according to the BBC March 21.

Rasmus Paludan claims he intends to burn the Qur'an on Wednesday, coinciding with the start of the month of Ramadan. Previously, Paludan had made several previous protests in which a copy of the Muslim holy book was burned, leading to demonstrations of his actions.

In January, he burned a copy of the Qur'an outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm. The protests became part of a diplomatic dispute between Turkey and Sweden, impacting the postponement of the NATO membership ratification submitted by Sweden.

In this regard, the UK's Secretary of Security told the House of Commons about its intervention, after Simon Lightwood, a member of parliament from the Labor Party for Wakefield, voiced concern on Monday about Paludan's potential visit.

" Denmark's right-wing Islamophobic politician, Rasmus Paludan, said he would travel from Denmark to Wakefield with the aim of burning the Qur'an in public places," Lightwood said.

Paludan has previously been jailed in Denmark for his hateful and racist statements. He is a dangerous person who should not be allowed into this country," he continued.

"Can the Minister of Home Affairs convince me and the public that the government is taking action to prevent this?" asked Lightwood.

Responding to that, Minister Tugendhat said Paludan had been put on the UK's warning list.

"Travel to the UK will not be conducive to the public interest and he will not be allowed in," he said.

Earlier, four students were suspended from Kettlethorpe High School in Wakefield in February, after a Class 10 student brought a Qur'an, which was reported as part of a challenge.

The cover of the Muslim holy book has been torn and some of its pages have been abrased, but the police have concluded no violations have been committed. The principal said he was relieved, because "there was no malicious intent from the parties involved".