Taking the piss

The reporter on the radio sounded somewhat surprised that opposition to the proposed bill against inciting religious hatred has grown. What I found so surprising was a majority still support the bill.

I think this comes down to the ICM question, basically: do you think it's a good idea to stop people stirring up hate against others just because of their religion? Well, yeah, obviously.

But if this really was the intention of the bill, then the government wouldn't have blocked the amendment to clarify that race hatred legislation could be used in such instances.

Sadly the bill, which has been slagged off by every sensible commentator, has little to do with religious or race hatred. Instead its a cynical attempt to win back the Muslim vote by extending the blasphemy laws.

But given how rarely these laws are enforced, the only thing its likely to do is increase hatred: from Muslim hardliners disappointed they can't prosecute, to other religious and secular groups angry about their freedoms being constrained.


If the maker of Piss Christ didn't end up in the Scubs, Salman should be safe... whatever Labour MP Khalid Mahmoud might think... 

February 2005, from the National Secular Society archives...

England's only Muslim MP, Khalid Mahmood, drew loud objections from fellow MPs when he defended the attacks on The Satanic Verses, a book that many Muslims wanted banned.

Mr Mahmood said: "As far as the Muslim community is concerned, if a preacher from the Christian faith, or any other, wants to make valid criticism as they see it, they are entitled to do that. We are talking about inciting hatred and abuse against people. That is the point we are making - it is a serious issue that has to be dealt with. People of other religions, other than the Sikh community and the Jewish community, feel that there is no protection in this area." (Under case law, Jews and Sikhs are alone regarded as mono-ethnic groups and thus are protected by the racial hatred provisions.)

He was challenged by Labour MP Diane Abbott (Hackney), who drew attention to the many Muslims who had opposed the publication of Salman Rushdie's book The Satanic Verses in 1988. She said: "I was a Member of Parliament at the time of The Satanic Verses and there were thousands and thousands of Muslims who believed emphatically that people were not entitled to criticise their religion."

Mr Mahmood said: "I am sorry but I take issue with that. It was not a question of making a valid criticism of the religion. In the context of Salman Rushdie, the issue was the abusive words that he deliberately used, which were written in phonetic Urdu..."

This drew a loud response from MPs as he explained: "Actual swear words were used within that text."