Another important free speech win.

[Imnobody4]

Hamit Coskun has won his appeal against his conviction for burning a Koran.
This is another welcome judgement underlining the right to free speech even if it grievously upsets. The fact the CPS prosecuted this case is a disgrace.

From the Crown Court's judgement in the Hamit Coskun case:

"There is no offence of blasphemy in our law. Burning a Koran may be an act that many Muslims find desperately upsetting and offensive. The criminal law, however, is not a mechanism that seeks to avoid people being upset, even grievously upset. The right to freedom of expression, if it is a right worth having, must include the right to express views that offend, shock or disturb.

"We live in a liberal democracy. One of the precious rights that affords us is to express our own views and read, hear and consider ideas without the state intervening to stop us doing so. The price we pay for that is having to allow others to exercise the same rights, even if that upsets, offends or shocks us."

Mr Justice Bennathan
Ms T Guest JP
Mr D Graves JP
10 October 2025

Sharia councils discriminate against women, grooming gangs target girls, misogynist Imams preach the subordination of women

As do many other religions.

Funny that you didn't get this het up on the thread about how some strands of Judaism are making women's lives a misery.

:boggle: I thought asking what you'd done to provoke the rape or beating or betrayal was targeted at women. But women are just a leading indicator. Blaming the victim is always easier.

Because we assume readers on FWR are thinking people, capable of joining the dots without having someone guide them every step of the way. Freedom of speech is central to the fight for all rights.

The other religions aren't calling for a blasphemy law. Funny how you never get het up about Islam.
Any of the laws I want will help Jewish women as much as Muslim. For example the registration of religious marriages.

That’s crazy. It’s like saying «the girl must have worn something really inappropriate to get the man so horny he couldnt control himself».

"We" do, do we?

Headmistress vibes there.

Feel free to make a post clarifying how this topic relates to women’s rights for those who haven’t yet spotted it. I suspect most in this thread can see it already though.

Maybe read up more to understand rather than criticising women for not posting exactly what you think we should post?

Are you here just to carp, or intending to add something useful at some point?

I don't need to read up on women's rights ta. Such idiotic reactions to what was a perfectly civil question. Grow up.

A) UK Jews are not working with the government to outlaw anyone targeting expressions of Judaism afaik.
B) UK Jews have not established 70/80 Jewish equivalents of Sharia courts that seem to encourage our judiciary to turn a blind eye to unlawful practices.
C) there are not 6 million Jews in the UK celebrating their recent significant increase in numbers and planning to use their growing political powers to bring in more.
D) afaik no UK Jews have expressed a desire to either kill us, bring a reign of terror to our country or forcibly convert us to Judaism.

If these things come to pass I’m sure we’ll get ‘het up’ about those too.

‘Civil’ is not how I would describe your recent posts.

I’ll wait for you to add your points that are relevant to the topic.

Honestly the level of debate relating to a feminist perspective seems to be getting less and less.

Its irrelevent what the number are. If only a tiny number of women are being disriminated against because of the cultural or religious beliefs of their community then as feminists we should care. And there have been threads about Jewish women being refused a divorce etc., etc..

Just as there has been discussion about FGM.

And the issue of "blasphemy law" is current, not because it is a specificaly Muslim issue but because the CPS now recognises that there can be ‘religiously aggravated public order offence'.

So debate the issue not the religion, just for once.

Do you think ‘religiously aggravated public order offence' crime is a good thing to have.

I very much see 'islamophobia' as the 'transphobia' of yesterday.

A while back you couldn't say anything about trans people without being called transphobic and having your life ruined by activists, now the world seems to have come to its senses a little on the issue and we can say things like TWAM on MN for instance and not get banned.

But right now you cannot point out the parts of islam that are at odds with western values without being called a fascist or islamaphobe.

Very much the same situation and I hope we start to see a turn around too.

Do you think ‘religiously aggravated public order offence' crime is a good thing to have.
No. We've not had one before. Presumably you do. Why?

And the issue of "blasphemy law" is current, not because it is a specificaly Muslim issue but because the CPS now recognises that there can be ‘religiously aggravated public order offence'.
It is current because individual Muslims react with violence to any criticism of their religion. Do you condone the behaviour and sentence of Hamit Coskun's attacker?
Do you think Charlie Hebdo and Salman Rushdie were asking for it?

Honestly the level of debate relating to a feminist perspective seems to be getting less and less.
Go on show us how it's done but I have to say you haven't impressed me yet.

Do you think ‘religiously aggravated public order offence' crime is a good thing to have.
No. We've not had one before. Presumably you do. Why

I'm just clarifying this. I'm talking about this case. There was no victim and nothing alarming (apart for the attack] and there is no public order offence of burning a book. It is very different to enter a Mosque and burn a Quran during the service. Desecration cannot refer to a book, it's not comparable to throwing soup over a unique painting, or attacking war memorials or graves or the destruction of the the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan.

Well, you obviously don't, so you have a point. There's always one....

I agree, it's like Wack-y-Phobia, we no sooner neutralise one then up pops another one. 😒