Today’s Jesus and Mo strip, called “knife,” came with this link at the Freethinker: “Blasphemy Laws 2.0: The conviction of Hamit Coskun,” There’s a short news piece at the Guardian about the man who burned a Qur’an; here’s an excerpt:
A man has been fined after he set fire to a Qur’an outside the Turkish consulate in London, in an act that was deemed “motivated at least in part by a hatred of Muslims” by a judge.
Hamit Coskun, 50, who was found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence on Monday, called his prosecution “an assault on free speech”.
In February, Coskun travelled from his home in the Midlands to Rutland Gardens, Knightsbridge, where he set fire to a copy of the Islamic holy book and shouted “fuck Islam”, “Islam is religion of terrorism” and “Qur’an is burning”.
Coskun, who was born in Turkey and is half Kurdish and half Armenian, argued in court that he had protested peacefully and burning the Qur’an amounted to freedom of expression.
Judge McGarva found that Coskun’s actions were “highly provocative” and said he was “motivated at least in part by a hatred of Muslims”. Coskun had argued his criticism was of Islam in general rather than its followers but McGarva said he could not accept this.
Coskun’s legal fees are being paid by the National Secular Society and the Free Speech Union, both of which criticised the ruling and said they intended to appeal “and keep on appealing it until it’s overturned”.
The fine was £240. This is blasphemy law, pure and simple, and it’s shameful for the UK to have such laws. Many countries do (26% of the world), but in the West they are not often enforced.
As usual, Mo gets things the wrong way round, arguing that the law is just and moral because in fact it did provoke violence.
Is it me or does “islamophobia” sound like a type of frothy beverage?
“Hello, yes, can I get an Islamophobia with hot fudge and rainbow sprinkles?”
🍦🍨🍺
“Yes. Would you like to super-size the rainbow sprinkles? It’s a special offer now through next week in honor of Donald J. Trump Day.”
It has probably been pointed out many times that Coskun did not utter a single disparaging word toward Muslims.
What is that thing over Mo’s face in the last panel?
Jesus’s pint of Guinness, which he has just upended over Mo’s turban.
That these brilliant cartoons cannot be shown in many heavily Islamic countries is a sad commentary on how seriously religion still dictates the status quo and by default, thought control. Sort of like the Middle Ages, and the shame of it is these satires are potent commentaries on this very hypocrisy.
That they can be shown here is yet another of the myriad reasons why the West is best.
Hey Mark,
The ”West is the best” remark is certainly true for you and me and the many sophisiticated patrons of this erudite site, but sadly, much of the world and, alas, much of the ”West” would find our little satire on religious idiocracy highly offensive and demeaning. God fills a void supposedly and if you are a believer in any organised religion, we are the problem and still very much the minority despite the brilliance and clarity of Hitchens, Dennett, Harris and Dawkins. That we have reason and science on our side is our weakness to those who need meaning in the final leap of faith that is so comforting, and for us secular humanists, so pathetic.
Ah, the other God-Shaped Hole — the one between the ears.
In the spirit of the Coskun prosecution, since Jesus took exception to Mo’s words and attacked him, shouldn’t Mo be the one accused of a hate crime?
So (without wanting to criticise Author) shouldn’t the last panel have a copper appearing in order to nick Mo?
The judge was not convinced that his action was against a religion and not the individuals who practice the religion. I don’t think a judge ought to apply law based on what he believes the defendant was thinking or feeling, rather than observable facts. If his actions were free speech, whether or not he holds hatred in his heart is beside the point IMO. I initially thought hate crime law was a good idea when it first came about in the US; I now don’t trust law that might be based on mind-reading.