A bill to increase protections for the right to criticise religion is set to come before Parliament next week.
Nick Timothy, a Conservative MP, will put a Freedom of Expression (Religion) Bill before the House of Commons next week in response to the conviction of Hamit Coskun for a religiously-aggravated public order offence on Monday.
The bill, which is reportedly co-signed by 11 other MPs, would extend section 29J of the Public Order Act so that it covers Part 1 Section 4A and Section 5 of the act, which concern offences which cause harassment alarm and distress to others. Section 29J protects the right to criticise or express “antipathy, dislike, ridicule, insult or abuse of particular religions or the beliefs or practices of their adherents”, but it currently only applies to Part 3A of the act concerning stirring up hatred against people on the grounds of religion, belief of sexual orientation. Coskun was convicted under Part 1 section 5 of the act, which is not covered by Section 29J.
Coskun was found guilty of disorderly behaviour within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress after he protested against Islamism outside the Turkish Consulate in February.
Coskun set fire to a Quran as part of the protest, which led to a man attacking him.
The judge also found him guilty of a religiously-aggravated offence, because he believed Coskun’s actions were motivated by his hostility to Muslims,
Coskun was originally charged with intent to cause “harassment, alarm or distress” against “the religious institution of Islam”. Following interventions by the National Secular Society, the Crown Prosecution Service said the wording of the charge was “incorrectly applied” and substituted a new charge.
The NSS, which contributed half of Coskun’s legal fees, said the conviction represented a “troubling repurposing of public order laws as a proxy for blasphemy laws”.
Announcing his plan to bring the bill before Parliament, Timothy said “we now have a blasphemy law in this country”, adding that the Public Order Act is being used to protect Islam from criticism.
Blasphemy was abolished as a common law offence in England and Wales in 2008. Last year, the Government said it would not reintroduce blasphemy laws, after Tahir Ali MP asked Prime Minister Keir Starmer to “commit to introducing measures to prohibit the desecration of all religious texts and prophets of the Abrahamic religions”.
NSS: Essential Government prevent “blasphemy by the back door”
National Secular Society chief executive Stephen Evans said: “Section 29J’s robust free speech provisions explicitly protect expressions of antipathy, dislike, ridicule, and even abuse of beliefs, clearly signalling Parliament’s intent to prevent the resurgence of blasphemy laws.
“With public order laws being used as a proxy for blasphemy codes to appease religious fundamentalists, the case for broadening freedom of expression protections is clear.
“Social cohesion, which underlies public order, is best served not by the restriction of rights but by their free exercise. It is essential the Government act to expand free speech protections and prevent the imposition of blasphemy by the back door.”
Media coverage:
Protect freedom to criticise Islam in law, MPs demand (The Telegraph)