Hamed Chapman
West Yorkshire Police have reportedly spoken to a pupil after an incident at Kettlethorpe High School in Wakefield last month in which a copy of the Qur’an was dropped by a boy described as having autism.
A police spokesperson said that initial inquiries confirmed “minor damage was caused to a religious text” and that it was recorded as a ‘hate incident’ because it didn’t meet the criminal threshold.
In the UK, blasphemy and blasphemous libel only remain to be offenses under the common law in Northern Ireland after being formally abolished in England and Wales in 2008 and in Scotland in 2021.
A report was also said to have been made by the police of a “malicious communications offence” concerning threats made to a child in connection with this incident.
“A suspect was identified, who was also a child, and they were given words of advice by an officer. We are continuing to liaise with the school, and our neighbourhood officers are conducting additional reassurance patrols in the area,” a statement said.
Media reports suggested that four pupils were suspended from the school. Wakefield Councillor Akef Akbar said he had been told the Qur’an had been taken to school as a dare by a pupil who lost while playing a Call of Duty videogame with other students.
Headteacher at the school, Tudor Griffiths, said he “would like to reassure all our community that the holy book remains fully intact and that our initial enquiries indicate there was no malicious intent by those involved.”
“However, we have made it very clear that their actions did not treat the Qur’an with the respect it should have, so those involved have been suspended, and we will be working with them to ensure they understand why their actions were unacceptable,” Griffiths said.
In an article for the Times, Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, insisted that the lodestar of British democracy is “freedom of speech.”
There is “no legal obligation to be reverent towards any religion.”
“We do not have blasphemy laws in Great Britain, and must not be complicit in the attempts to impose them on this country,” Braverman confirmed but made no reference to the fact that Blasphemy Law still applies in Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, where there are strong religious divisions between two Christian denominations.
“Nobody can demand respect for their belief system, even if it is a religion. People are legally entitled to reject and leave any religion. There is no apostasy law in this country. The act of accusing someone of apostasy or blasphemy is effectively inciting violence against that person,” she added.
The Times’ view was that Braverman “rightly insisted” that free speech was not incitement. “This freedom was absolute, did not vary case by case, and could not be disapplied at a local level,” it controversially argued.
Akbar, who called a local meeting about the incident, said it had been made clear that the Qur’an was not treated with the respect it should have and that “those involved have been suspended, and we will be working with them to ensure they understand why their actions were unacceptable.”
“We met with our local Muslim community leaders, local councillors, and police to share all the information we currently know, the action taken and the immediate steps we have taken to reinforce the values and behaviour we expect from every member of this school community to ensure that all religions are respected”, he said.
Photo: Commenting on the lastest Qur’an descreation case, Home Secretary, Suella Braverman MP, said the freedom to offend is “absolute” and does not vary by case.
(Photo credit: UK Home Office/CC BY 2.0)
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