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Denmark to criminalise foreign funding for mosques

Denmark is set to present a new bill that would criminalise funding for mosques sent by foreign countries and entities.

In an attempt to counter religious extremism, the bill was first announced by Danish Integration Minister Mattias Tesfaye earlier this month, who said in a Facebook post that the government would criminalise the funding of mosques in the country by any individuals, organisations, or even countries which ‘oppose or undermine democratic values, fundamental freedoms and human rights’.

It had previously been claimed that Saudi Arabia had been sending around $790,000 to the Taiba Mosque in the capital Copenhagen through its embassy.

The resulting parliamentary settlement with opposition parties targeted the flow of money from foreign entities, also agreeing to oppose and ban ‘religious preachers that seek to undermine Danish laws and values and support parallel legal perceptions’.

Under that law, it would become a criminal offence for mosques to accept money from certain entities, organisations and other donors which Denmark would compile and establish a list of.

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