Is the United Kingdom turning into a theocracy, centuries after the Church of England was secularized? Is blasphemy now a criminal offense?
Well, yes. Although it depends, naturally, on which religion you blaspheme against. See the case of Hamit Coskun, who is being fined for burning a Koran and criticizing Islam:
Hamit Coskun shouted “f— Islam” and “Islam is religion of terrorism” while holding the religious text above his head during a protest on Feb 13.
The 50-year-old, who was violently attacked by a passerby during the demonstration in London, went on trial last week, accused of an offence under the Public Order Act.
At Westminster magistrates’ court on Monday, he was found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence of using disorderly conduct, which was motivated “in part by hostility towards members of a religious group, namely followers of Islam”.
The “disorderly conduct” consisted of burning the Koran and shouting anti-Islam opinions. Coskun comes by his hostility to Islam honestly. The judge, in delivering his verdict, said:
Addressing Coskun, he said: “You believe Islam is an ideology which encourages its followers to violence, paedophilia and a disregard for the rights of non-believers.
“You don’t distinguish between the two. I find you have a deep-seated hatred of Islam and its followers. That is based on your experiences in Turkey and the experiences of your family.”
The linked Telegraph article does not shed much light on what happened to Coskun and his family in Turkey. His Koran-burning demonstration took place in front of the Turkish consulate.
Coskun is no doubt right about this:
“Would I have been prosecuted if I’d set fire to a copy of the Bible outside Westminster Abbey? I doubt it.”
Of course he would not have been. The British authorities are afraid of Muslim violence, and therefore have imposed a kind of semi-Sharia in which criticism of Islam, alone among religions, is potentially criminal.
This seems like a fitting conclusion to the story:
The court heard Coskun, who is now in hiding, had to flee his home country of Turkey two and a half years ago to escape persecution.
Why is he in hiding? Presumably on account of threats from Muslims. Which, some would say, reinforces his point. It is one thing to be in hiding in Turkey, something else to be forced into hiding in England. But the British government, rather than defending Coskun against such threats, chose to fine him to appease the aggressors.
