Britain Edges Toward Muslim Blasphemy Law Through the Courts
17th February 2026
Last October, we reported that Britain had “narrowly avoided blasphemy laws in disguise.” Now, they are very much back on the cards, and could be introduced as soon as this Tuesday.
This is due to the case of Hamit Coskun, a Turkish asylum seeker who burned a copy of the Quran outside his country’s London embassy while shouting, “Islam is a religion of terrorism.” A Muslim man slashed Coskun with a knife and shouted, “I’m going to kill you,” but was spared jail.
Coskun was initially convicted last June of a breach of the Public Order Act, despite supporters noting that “he hurt no one” and “he threatened no one.” The conviction was later overturned on appeal, with Justice Joel Bennathan affirming that there is no offence of blasphemy in UK law, and upholding the “right to offend.”