Quran to be banned in the UK?

Muslims in Britain are pushing for the new religious hatred law, and jihadists will be the happiest to see it instituted, since it will muzzle honest consideration of the Islamic roots of jihad terrorism. However, at least one jihadist group, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, which runs the site Khilafah.com, doesn't look at the new law with unalloyed joy: they see that it could be turned against them, and the Qur'an.

Maybe they do have something to worry about. After all, a man was stopped from quoting the Qur'an in an Australian court because to do might have constituted incitement. Oh, wait -- that was a non-Muslim, and by reading the Qur'an he was alleged to be inciting hatred of Muslims.

Also, this presupposes a British politician who is not so much of a dhimmi as the others, and there are no such on the horizon, so Hizb-ut-Tahrir can breathe easy.

From Khilafah.com, with thanks to DC Watson:

The proposed British legislation relating to religious hatred may be perceived by many Muslims as a real benefit. Others may see it as something of a double-edged sword. However it is best described as a dagger in our back. The adoption of an “incitement to religious hatred” law will be an attempt to muzzle Muslims from quoting from the Quran, and the other sacred texts of Islam. The new law, under consideration in the Westminster Parliament, would mean Muslims convicted of incitement would face up to seven years in jail. Quoting from the Quran in a “threatening, abusive or insulting” way will become a crime in the amendment to Part 3 of the Public Order Act of 1986. Rather than introduce new legislation on the vague but broad concept of religious hatred, the UK government has decided to slip the new provisions into amendments. These are planned to change a range of minor matters in the existing Act. These include additional protections for the victims of “animal rights” activists, or greater sanction against trespass on Crown land or “a site belonging to the Monarch or Heir to the Throne”. This comes in the wake of high profile publicity stunts staged at royal residences (Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace) during the past few years.

Muslims will take particular note of the new definitions of religious hatred, which several high profile comedians have already complained about. The comedians are concerned that they will be restricted in their ability to pour scorn on all forms of organised religion, a not inconsiderable percentage of the typical comedic routine. They needn’t be concerned. In Schedule 10 of the bill, Religious Hatred is defined as “hatred against a group of persons defined by reference to religious belief or lack of religious belief”. The emphasis is clearly upon the adherents of belief (or rather perversely those of no belief). Quite how one can express religious hatred against someone who has no religion will be interesting to note. Legal commentators have indicated that expressing insults, abuse or worse against religions per se including Islam is perfectly OK in the planned scheme of things. To express any such thoughts, and hatred in particular against members of any belief/non belief will not be allowed....

It also cannot be ignored that the British Labour government will soon face a general election, and amidst rising unpopularity, due to its foreign policies, it needs to court the Muslim community. Rising anti-Muslim sentiment in the UK in the wake of 9/11, and the war against Islam is hardly surprising. This legislation will do little or nothing to protect Muslims, and is more likely to be used against those that carry and propagate Islam. Liberty has warned that the new law will be directly used against Muslims rather than protecting them: “We are particularly concerned that Home Secretary has publicly stated a desire to target and prioritise certain Islamic clerics for prosecution once the proposed extension of the law is passed”. The now former Home secretary David Blunkett when presenting the amendments to parliament stated: “It is possible to quote or misquote passages of sacred texts out of context so that they become threatening, abusive or insulting and intended or likely to stir up hatred. Such activities would rightly be caught by the scope of the law”. That these “paragons of secular virtue” now feel able to distinguish clearly between legitimate quoting and misquoting of sacred texts would be laughable if it was not so serious.

There is no shortage of verses in the Quran to excite the interest of the British judiciary. The dozens of verses exhorting Jihad for starters, or perhaps the verses warning of the plans of the Jews or Christians, or which castigate the unjust!

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لاَ تَتَّخِذُواْ الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَى أَوْلِيَاء بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاء بَعْضٍ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُم مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ

“O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people.” [Quran 5:51]

At a time in which the Muslims living in the Western nations need to be even more vocal in presenting the clear guidance of the Quran to both Muslims and non-Muslims we find ourselves again under pressure to adhere to poorly defined and biased legislation to silence the call to Islam.

يُرِيدُونَ أَن يُطْفِؤُواْ نُورَ اللّهِ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَيَأْبَى اللّهُ إِلاَّ أَن يُتِمَّ نُورَهُ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُونَ

“They wish to extinguish Allah’s guiding (light) with their utterances, but Allah will not allow (this to pass) for He has willed to spread His light in all its fullness, however hateful this is to those that deny the truth” [Quran 9:32]