Man fined after burning Qur’an outside Turkish consulate in London

The Guardian ^ | 3 June 2025 | Sammy Gecsouler

[Cronos]

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, who issued a fine of £240, rejected the idea that the prosecution was “an attempt to bring back and expand blasphemy law”.

In his ruling, he said burning a religious book and making criticism of Islam or the Qur’an are “not necessarily disorderly”, but added: “What made his conduct disorderly was the timing and location of the conduct and that all this was accompanied by abusive language.”

[Cronos]

Coskun, who was born in Turkey and is half Kurdish and half Armenian,

[Cronos]

Coskun’s trial for a civil offence took place just over three months after the incident.

But the man who assaulted him will not be tried until 2027, according to reporting by the Telegraph.

Why?
https://telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/06/02/man-burned-koran-guilty-racially-aggravated-public-order/

https://t.co/eR3fvFQUmW

[alexander_busek]

“What made his conduct disorderly was the timing and location of the conduct and that all this was accompanied by abusive language.”

So "Freedom of Expression" is okay as long as it is confined to the privacy of one's own home (preferably a root cellar or garden shed, anytime between midnight and 4 a.m.) where no one else can witness it. Also: It mustn't contain any words that might "offend" anyone!

Check!

Regards,

[Doctor Congo]

Fined?

This is the UK. They put people in jail for things like this.
Maybe it is because the offender was a ‘migrant’ or something.

[Smellin Salt]

Dudes got a death wish.

[TokarevM57]

.....wonder what the fine or punishment would be if someone burned a bible on a street corner....jus’ askin’ .....

[SharpRightTurn]

“Coskun shouted … “Islam is religion of terrorism”. I don’t see how anyone could argue with that.

[TheThirdRuffian]

He should claim to be queer and protesting Islamic persecution of gays.

The irreconcilable wokeness would cause the British authorities heads to explode.

[Strident]

How endearing it is that our former colonial overlords aren’t bothered by silly and antiquated concepts like Freedom of Speech.

[existentially_kuffer]

“install Terror(fear) in the hearts of non-believers” appears in the Quran, specifically in Surah Al-Anfal (Chapter 8), Verse 12.

Guess who said Surah 8, Ayat 12?