Imagine living in a country so religiously uptight that even making a smudge on a copy of the Quran could turn into a police matter. A country so nervous of offending Islam that even kids could be punished for allegedly disrespecting that religion. A country so determined to ringfence certain religious beliefs from scrutiny or mockery that you might hear actual politicians denouncing as ‘provocative’ and ‘terrible’ any slight against those beliefs.
Well, if you’re in the UK then you live in that country. Forget Iran. Never mind Afghanistan. It’s right here in Blighty, a supposedly free, mostly secular nation, that all of the above recently happened. Let’s call it ‘Qurangate’. And let’s talk about just how messed up it is.
Is it against the law now to cause ‘minor damage’ to a holy book with ‘no malicious intent’?
It happened in Wakefield in West Yorkshire last week. Four pupils were suspended from Kettlethorpe High School for allegedly ‘desecrating’ a copy of the Quran (that D-word was literally used by a local Labour councillor).
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