The conviction on 2 June of Hamit Coskun for setting a Quran alight in public has rightly worried secularists and free speech activists. A distasteful, even deplorable, act? Certainly. But if deplorable acts of expression are to be punished by the state, then there is no true free speech. The religious dimension of this case adds a certain piquancy: nearly 20 years after England and Wales abolished blasphemy laws, has another now been foisted back upon them under the guise of ‘religiously aggravated public order offences’? Perhaps the worst aspect of the case is that the prosecution used the fact of Coskun being attacked by an offended zealot as part of their argument. ‘You offended someone into threatening your life and attacking you with a weapon—guilty, m’lud!’ Yes, yes, and in other news, her skirt was too short…
All in all, then, this seems a good time to revisit some Freethinker articles on the subjects of blasphemy, free speech, and desecration:
Coskun’s conviction is a surrender to Islamic blasphemy codes, by Stephen Evans
The burning question: are blasphemy laws back? by Stephen Evans
Kant vs Tahir Ali: why desecration should not be outlawed, by Daniel Herbert
The power of outrage, by Tehreem Azeem
Salwan Momika and the right to burn books, by Noel Yaxley
The perils of dropping a book, by Noel Yaxley
The need to rekindle irreverence for Islam in Muslim thought, by Kunwar Khuldune Shahid
The Galileo of Pakistan? Interview with Professor Sher Ali, by Ehtesham Hassan
10 years since the Charlie Hebdo attack: a message from the Freethinker, by Daniel James Sharp
Charlie Hebdo: An open letter to the free world from a freethinker, by Khadija Khan
Storm over a tea-cup? The ‘Mug-Gate’ teacher speaks out, by Matt Lovell
Image of the week: ‘Moses Getting a Back View’ (1882), by Daniel James Sharp
Britain’s blasphemy heritage, by David Nash
Secularism and the struggle for free speech, by Stephen Evans
Britain’s liberal imam: Interview with Taj Hargey, by Emma Park
Your email address will not be published. Comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Required fields are marked *
Donate