Blasphemy
was abolished in England and Wales in 2008 and in Scotland in 2021. Northern
Ireland is the only part of the UK to have retained it.
The
incidents at Batley Grammar School and Kettlethorpe High School in Wakefield,
are both ostensibly related to the holy book the Qur'an, and an allegation of
blasphemy or disrespect.
Under
pressure from local Muslims, three teachers were suspended at Batley Grammar
school and one had to go into hiding with his family in fear of his life, after
receiving death threats. The teacher had been accused of the 'inappropriate'
use of a picture of the prophet in an R.E. class which was used to illustrate a
point about religious bigotry.
At
the school in Wakefield, four pupils have been suspended for slightly damaging
an English copy of the Qur'an they had bought themselves. They have been
accused by local Muslims of 'desecrating'
the Holy Book. The incident has been dubbed 'Qurangate'. The head teacher of
the school, says there was "no
malicious intent by those involved", yet there have been death threats
to one of the boys who is autistic. The local police said they were treating
the matter as an "hate incident"
- not the death threats but the scuff marks on the book - and the head teacher
of the school called it a "very
serious matter."
In both cases, attempts to appease a mob of Muslim activists, and the fear of being accused of Islamophobia, has effectively reintroduced a de facto law of blasphemy in England through the backdoor.
The incident at Kettlethorpe High
School, makes one wonder what would have happened if a Muslim child had dropped
a copy of the Christian Bible. Would that have led to a police Inquiry and
accusations of hate crime and desecration.
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1 comment:
I agree. But no one wants to stand up for Christians. That’s what’s killing the society we once knew. The only answer is that the churches need to be full and to grow. You won’t agree I’m sure, but in my opinion there is no other way.
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