https://unherd.com/newsroom/prosecuting-quran-burners-is-capitulation-to-blasphemy-laws/
In February, 50-year-old Hamit Coskun was charged with causing “harassment, alarm or distress” to the Islamic faith after burning a Quran outside the Turkish consulate in London. A KC told the National Secular Society that the charges were “plainly defective”, while the NSS accused prosecutors of reintroducing a blasphemy law “by the back door”.
It’s true, if Coskun is convicted, that this would mark yet another step in Europe’s steady capitulation to the “Jihadists’ Veto” — where fear of violent backlash dictates the boundaries of lawful expression. Coskun said his display was a protest against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. On X, Coskun claimed that Turkey is being turned into a “base for radical Islamists”. He also wanted to express solidarity with Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee who was assassinated in Sweden in January after burning Qurans in repeated public protests.
Coskun’s reference to events in Sweden illustrates a broader European trend. A spate of Quran burnings, particularly in Scandinavia, has exposed the growing influence of what might be called outsourced censorship. This is the result of a mix of pressure from authoritarian regimes, especially the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC); threats from jihadist groups; and appeasement by liberal democracies.
The UK has its own examples where the state has failed to defend its citizens’ right to criticise religious doctrine. In the case of the Batley Grammar School teacher — who is still in hiding four years after showing a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad during a class on religious education — he was not even criticising the religion. Yet the British Government allowed the mob to threaten and intimidate someone merely doing their job. And who can forget the 2023 case of the autistic pupil who received death threats for allegedly damaging a copy of the Quran?
HebrideanUltraTerfHecate /
npub1e3…kkndc
2025-04-13 17:56:19
Author Public Key
npub1e3xthy5u0hugnazmqwku5zzsljwv4cnjclyxzcrd65zflhu5238sakkndcPublished at
2025-04-13 17:56:19Event JSON
{
"id": "0563bf345cfc3c67dfcd64ae2e1e121e2068b569594210b83851393c106a3c57",
"pubkey": "cc4cbb929c7df889f45b03adca0850fc9ccae272c7c861606dd5049fdf94544f",
"created_at": 1744566979,
"kind": 1,
"tags": [
[
"proxy",
"https://spinster.xyz/objects/d8b2f2f6-fb27-4385-ba21-a133827512a4",
"activitypub"
],
[
"client",
"Mostr",
"31990:6be38f8c63df7dbf84db7ec4a6e6fbbd8d19dca3b980efad18585c46f04b26f9:mostr",
"wss://relay.mostr.pub"
]
],
"content": "https://unherd.com/newsroom/prosecuting-quran-burners-is-capitulation-to-blasphemy-laws/\n\nIn February, 50-year-old Hamit Coskun was charged with causing “harassment, alarm or distress” to the Islamic faith after burning a Quran outside the Turkish consulate in London. A KC told the National Secular Society that the charges were “plainly defective”, while the NSS accused prosecutors of reintroducing a blasphemy law “by the back door”.\n\nIt’s true, if Coskun is convicted, that this would mark yet another step in Europe’s steady capitulation to the “Jihadists’ Veto” — where fear of violent backlash dictates the boundaries of lawful expression. Coskun said his display was a protest against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. On X, Coskun claimed that Turkey is being turned into a “base for radical Islamists”. He also wanted to express solidarity with Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee who was assassinated in Sweden in January after burning Qurans in repeated public protests.\n\nCoskun’s reference to events in Sweden illustrates a broader European trend. A spate of Quran burnings, particularly in Scandinavia, has exposed the growing influence of what might be called outsourced censorship. This is the result of a mix of pressure from authoritarian regimes, especially the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC); threats from jihadist groups; and appeasement by liberal democracies.\n\nThe UK has its own examples where the state has failed to defend its citizens’ right to criticise religious doctrine. In the case of the Batley Grammar School teacher — who is still in hiding four years after showing a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad during a class on religious education — he was not even criticising the religion. Yet the British Government allowed the mob to threaten and intimidate someone merely doing their job. And who can forget the 2023 case of the autistic pupil who received death threats for allegedly damaging a copy of the Quran?",
"sig": "570057ea7bfe2134e947da9c66fa60fb0b7f37abd1b9dc787d31bc60c2daa94282e3c15ef140f72326d8d059d4164e6227e3cf6c07f99c92069d74351e381d0b"
}