London, UK — Tensions have escalated following the arrest and charge of 50-year-old Hamit Coskun for burning a Quran outside the Turkish consulate in London. Coskun is accused of causing “harassment, alarm or distress” to the Islamic faith, igniting debates over freedom of expression and the limits thereof. Legal analysts argue that the charges against Coskun might be inherently flawed, and critics view this as a concealed effort to reintroduce blasphemy laws.
Coskun defended his actions as a form of protest against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, alleging that Turkey is evolving into a stronghold for radical Islamists. He further stated his act was also to show solidarity with Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee assassinated in Sweden after his repeated public Quran burnings.
This incident in London is not isolated but part of a broader pattern where political and religious sensitivities are increasingly dictating the boundaries of permissible speech in Europe. Scandinavian countries, notably, have witnessed a series of Quran burnings that sparked international outrage and threats from extremist groups. The responses from these countries reflect a complex interplay of domestic policy shifts and international diplomatic pressures.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), an intergovernmental grouping of 57 Muslim-majority countries, has been pivotal in pushing the narrative that defaming religious scriptures aligns with hate speech under international human rights laws—an agenda many critics argue is a guise to enforce global blasphemy laws.
A notable pivot in policy was observed in Denmark. Having abolished its long-standing blasphemy law in 2017 in a move celebrated as a victory for free speech, Denmark found itself reversing its stance in 2023. Faced with a wave of Quran burnings by far-right protestors and corresponding international backlash, Denmark reinstated restrictions on the desecration of religious texts, thereby narrowing the scope of free speech concerning religious matters.
The shift is significant, marking what many see as Denmark capitulating to pressures both internal and from abroad, influenced heavily by criticisms from the OIC. In support of this agenda, the OIC managed to pass a UN resolution conflating religious offense with incitement to religious hatred, backed by influential nations such as China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.
Compounding the gravity of these legislative changes, Denmark’s enforcement of these laws has resulted in legal actions against individuals accused of mishandling religious texts publicly. Similarly, in Sweden, despite its democratic values, legal actions and extrajudicial violence have targeted individuals like Salwan Momika for their non-violent protests against religious extremism.
The situation in the UK is also concerning, with instances such as the ongoing plight of the Batley Grammar School teacher and threats faced by a student over alleged damage to a Quran, painting a bleak picture of how the state sometimes fails to protect its citizens’ rights to freedom of expression when religious sentiments are involved.
The overarching lesson from these developments in Europe is troubling. Democracies appear increasingly ready to compromise on free speech principles when faced with the threat of violence, thereby emboldening those who seek to suppress expression through intimidation. The foundational issue has shifted from whether free speech is under attack by violent extremism—which it clearly is—to whether there remains a resolve to defend these liberties.
It is crucial for nations like the UK to reevaluate their stance and potentially lead in resisting the trend of yielding to such pressures. The courage to uphold the values of free speech and liberal democracy has never been more imperative.
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