Koran Should Be Banned if UK Passes Religious Hate Law, Group Says
As British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his ministers defend plans to outlaw incitement to religious hatred, a Christian organization has warned that if the law passes, it will seek to have the Koran banned.
Published Oct 13, 2005
(CNSNews.com) - As British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his ministers defend plans to outlaw incitement to religious hatred, a Christian organization has warned that if the law passes, it will seek to have the Koran banned.
The controversial Racial and Religious Hatred Bill was debated at length in the House of Lords on Tuesday, before moving to the committee stage of the legislative process.
Hundreds of opponents, most of them Christians, protested outside the houses of parliament.
The bill was introduced by the government -- for the third time after two unsuccessful previous efforts -- in a bid to protect Muslims who say they have felt threatened by anti-Islamic views since 9/11.
The measure would outlaw any written material or public verbal comments "that are threatening, abusive or insulting [and] likely to stir up racial or religious hatred." The offense carries a jail term of up to seven years.
Former Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury George (now Lord) Carey, a member of the House of Lords, was among those who spoke against the bill, saying while he supported the government's goal of opposing hatred, the legislation "has the potential to drive a wedge between Muslim communities and the rest of us."
In the House of Commons Blair, was challenged Wednesday by critics who asked him to define "religion" and give an example of an action that would infringe the new law, but not break other laws already in place.
Blair replied that although incitement to racial hatred was already illegal, someone could be abused on grounds of religion, and not be protected under current law.
"If, for example, hatred is incited against Muslims it may not be against their ethnic grouping but against their religious grouping."
Blair also sought to assure concerned artists and comedians that the proposed law would not make the telling of religious jokes illegal.
Conservative lawmaker John Baron, who asked Blair questions on the bill, said afterwards he was disappointed that the prime minister had been "unable to either define religion or provide an example."
"I do believe this dangerous legislation is unnecessary, will stifle freedom of speech and can only harm community relations," Baron said.
Another argument raised this week came from another member of the House of Lords, Lord Mackay, who told British radio on Tuesday that the proposed law may end up providing legal protection to the very type of extremist sentiment the government was most concerned about at present.
Mackay, a senior lawyer, noted that Blair blamed the July 7 bombings by Muslim terrorists on "a perverted and poisonous misinterpretation of the religion of Islam."
But, he asserted, that perversion of Islam which Blair had referred to was "as much a religion, of course, as Islam itself."
The proposed law would provide legal protection "to what the government regards as one of the most dangerous threats to our security and peace at the present time," Mackay said.
Koran concerns
Since most Christians oppose the bill and Jews and Sikhs are already covered by racial hatred laws -- because their affiliation is considered ethnic as well as religious -- Muslims are seen as the primary beneficiaries of the bill. They have also been its strongest supporters.
Muslims have not been happy, however, at the suggestion that their own religious texts may fall foul of the bill for which they have been pressing for so long.
During an earlier parliamentary debate, last June, Conservative lawmaker Boris Johnson said that "if this bill makes any sense at all, it must mean banning the reading -- in public or private -- of a great many passages of the Koran itself."
He then read aloud several passages from the Koran which deal with the treatment of non-Muslims.
Johnson said he acknowledged that the Koran was "not unique" in its hostility to other faiths, but found it ironic that the law was designed to combat "Islamophobia."
His comments prompted a delegation of concerned Muslim figures to visit the member of government responsible for the legislation, Home Office minister Paul Goggins, and urged him to "totally exempt" Islamic texts from the remit of the bill.
The Muslim Weekly reported that Goggins assured the delegation "that there was nothing in the bill that would prevent scholars from delivering their sermons or from reciting from the Koran."
But the issue has come up again, with a warning from a small but vocal Christian lobby group.
Christian Voice said in a statement it opposed the bill, because "we want the freedom to preach the Gospel, to say Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that the gurus and prophets of other religions lead nowhere except to hell."
But if the bill was passed into law, the organization said, it would respond by reporting Islamic bookstores for selling the Koran and the Hadith (sayings of Mohammed).
"If they aren't hate speech, nothing is."
Christian Voice said it would also challenge the new law by publicly "pointing out what is wrong with other religions and what is right with Christianity."
Led by a former Anglican, Stephen Green, the Protestant group has come under fire for preaching against homosexuality and for some of its tactics -- for instance, publicizing the home phone numbers of BBC executives to protest the decision to screen the controversial West End show "Jerry Springer: The Opera."
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The controversial Racial and Religious Hatred Bill was debated at length in the House of Lords on Tuesday, before moving to the committee stage of the legislative process.
Hundreds of opponents, most of them Christians, protested outside the houses of parliament.
The bill was introduced by the government -- for the third time after two unsuccessful previous efforts -- in a bid to protect Muslims who say they have felt threatened by anti-Islamic views since 9/11.
The measure would outlaw any written material or public verbal comments "that are threatening, abusive or insulting [and] likely to stir up racial or religious hatred." The offense carries a jail term of up to seven years.
Former Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury George (now Lord) Carey, a member of the House of Lords, was among those who spoke against the bill, saying while he supported the government's goal of opposing hatred, the legislation "has the potential to drive a wedge between Muslim communities and the rest of us."
In the House of Commons Blair, was challenged Wednesday by critics who asked him to define "religion" and give an example of an action that would infringe the new law, but not break other laws already in place.
Blair replied that although incitement to racial hatred was already illegal, someone could be abused on grounds of religion, and not be protected under current law.
"If, for example, hatred is incited against Muslims it may not be against their ethnic grouping but against their religious grouping."
Blair also sought to assure concerned artists and comedians that the proposed law would not make the telling of religious jokes illegal.
Conservative lawmaker John Baron, who asked Blair questions on the bill, said afterwards he was disappointed that the prime minister had been "unable to either define religion or provide an example."
"I do believe this dangerous legislation is unnecessary, will stifle freedom of speech and can only harm community relations," Baron said.
Another argument raised this week came from another member of the House of Lords, Lord Mackay, who told British radio on Tuesday that the proposed law may end up providing legal protection to the very type of extremist sentiment the government was most concerned about at present.
Mackay, a senior lawyer, noted that Blair blamed the July 7 bombings by Muslim terrorists on "a perverted and poisonous misinterpretation of the religion of Islam."
But, he asserted, that perversion of Islam which Blair had referred to was "as much a religion, of course, as Islam itself."
The proposed law would provide legal protection "to what the government regards as one of the most dangerous threats to our security and peace at the present time," Mackay said.
Koran concerns
Since most Christians oppose the bill and Jews and Sikhs are already covered by racial hatred laws -- because their affiliation is considered ethnic as well as religious -- Muslims are seen as the primary beneficiaries of the bill. They have also been its strongest supporters.
Muslims have not been happy, however, at the suggestion that their own religious texts may fall foul of the bill for which they have been pressing for so long.
During an earlier parliamentary debate, last June, Conservative lawmaker Boris Johnson said that "if this bill makes any sense at all, it must mean banning the reading -- in public or private -- of a great many passages of the Koran itself."
He then read aloud several passages from the Koran which deal with the treatment of non-Muslims.
Johnson said he acknowledged that the Koran was "not unique" in its hostility to other faiths, but found it ironic that the law was designed to combat "Islamophobia."
His comments prompted a delegation of concerned Muslim figures to visit the member of government responsible for the legislation, Home Office minister Paul Goggins, and urged him to "totally exempt" Islamic texts from the remit of the bill.
The Muslim Weekly reported that Goggins assured the delegation "that there was nothing in the bill that would prevent scholars from delivering their sermons or from reciting from the Koran."
But the issue has come up again, with a warning from a small but vocal Christian lobby group.
Christian Voice said in a statement it opposed the bill, because "we want the freedom to preach the Gospel, to say Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that the gurus and prophets of other religions lead nowhere except to hell."
But if the bill was passed into law, the organization said, it would respond by reporting Islamic bookstores for selling the Koran and the Hadith (sayings of Mohammed).
"If they aren't hate speech, nothing is."
Christian Voice said it would also challenge the new law by publicly "pointing out what is wrong with other religions and what is right with Christianity."
Led by a former Anglican, Stephen Green, the Protestant group has come under fire for preaching against homosexuality and for some of its tactics -- for instance, publicizing the home phone numbers of BBC executives to protest the decision to screen the controversial West End show "Jerry Springer: The Opera."
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Originally published October 14, 2005.
