Convicting man accused of setting fire to Quran could 'reintroduce blasphemy'
Prohibition of blasphemy could soon come back if a man accused of burning a Koran outside the Turkish consulate in London is convicted, campaigners say.
Hamit Coskun, 50, allegedly shouted 'F*** Islam', 'Islam is a religion of terrorism' and 'Koran is burning' as he held the flaming Islamic text up in Rutland Gardens, Knightsbridge, on February 13.
Coskun is accused of a religiously aggravated public order offence of using disorderly behaviour 'within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress'.
Lawyers say this was motivated by 'hostility towards members of a religious group, namely followers of Islam', in violation of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and the Public Order Act 1986.
Coskun is on trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday and has pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Ahead of his trial, in a quote released through the Free Speech Union, he said: 'Encountering such treatment in a country like England, which I truly believed to be a place where freedom prevailed, was a real shock to me.'
His legal fees are being paid for by the Free Speech Union and the National Secular Society (NSS), who say they are defending them because they believe 'no one should be compelled to observe the blasphemy codes of any religion, whether Christian or Muslim.'
Stephen Evans, chief executive of the NSS, warned: 'A successful prosecution in this case could represent the effective criminalisation of damaging a Koran in public, edging us dangerously close to a prohibition on blasphemy.
'The case also highlights the alarming use of public order laws to curtail our collective right to protest and free speech based on the subjective reactions of others. Establishing a right not to be offended threatens the very foundation of free expression.'
The NSS claims Coskun is an asylum seeker who fled Turkey, having been a political prisoner for almost a decade, who 'thought he would be free to peacefully protest about a particular religion'.
Lord Young of Acton, general secretary of the organisation, added: 'The rights to peaceful protest and freedom of expression are sacrosanct and should not be disregarded because of fears about inflaming community tensions in a multicultural society.'
A spokesperson for Humanists UK said that a successful prosecution would 'effectively resurrect the crime of blasphemy in England and Wales – 17 years after its abolition'.
They added: 'This reintroduction of blasphemy by the back door would have profound consequences, not only for free expression in the UK but for the safety and well-being of hundreds of thousands of so-called 'apostates' in the UK and their right to freedom of thought and conscience.'
In 2023, the decision to allow two men to stage a controversial protest outside a mosque in Sweden was widely condemned. More Trending
Salwan Momika, who is thought to be an Iraqi living in Sweden, tore pages from a Quran, wiped his shoes on them and draped bacon across the book before setting it on fire.
Swedish authorities granted permission for the protest to go ahead and Muslim-majority nations slammed the burning of the holy Islamic text.
Muslims consider the Quran the sacred word of God and any intentional damage or show of disrespect towards it is considered extremely offensive.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the protest, which coincided with the beginning of one of the most important Muslim holidays of Eid al-Adha, was 'legal but not appropriate'.
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