Violent Threats Against ‘Blasphemy’ Increasing: Report

Protesters give a statement to members of the media outside Batley Grammar School in Batley, West Yorkshire, where a teacher has been suspended for showing a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad to pupils during a religious studies lesson, on March 26, 2021. PA Media

Anti-blasphemy activism in the UK is gaining momentum and showing signs of becoming increasingly radicalised, according to a government report.

A report released on Monday titled “Understanding and Responding to Blasphemy Extremism in the UK” warns that blasphemy related incidents have increased in frequency over recent years.

The report produced by extremism expert Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens said the incidents involve extreme sectarianism, intimidation, and threats of violence and pointed to three recent “blasphemy flashpoints” in the UK.

He said that anti-blasphemy activism comes in various guises but two, which he said were the most “pervasive and inflammatory,” included targeting anti-blasphemy against non-Muslims deemed to have “insulted Islam” usually by showing images depicting the Prophet Muhammad or damaging physical copies of the Quran.

Anti-blasphemy activism also targets sects which are viewed as “heretical” such as the Ahmadi Muslim sect or certain Shia groups.

The report noted the Batley Grammar School incident, in which a teacher and his family, including four small children, were forced into hiding and received death threats, after he showed a class a picture of the Prophet Muhammad.

It also mentioned the campaign against the Shia-influenced film “Lady of Heaven“ in 2022, which was written by the Muslim Sheikh Yasser al-Habib.

The report said that a case regarding a Year 10 boy in West Yorkshire who got death threats after he caused “slight damage” to a copy of the Quran, was linked to a “new generation” of UK-based anti-blasphemy activists who are working to make blasphemy a key issue for British Muslims.

‘Most Alarming Recent Development’

The report said that the “most alarming recent development” is the emergence of a UK wing of the extremist Pakistani anti-blasphemy political party, Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP).

Before his death in 2020, TLP founder Khadim Rizvi had a long record of supporting vigilante violence and murder against accused blasphemers.

He also celebrated the 2016 murder of Asad Shah, a 40-year-old shopkeeper in Glasgow, Scotland, who was found stabbed to death hours after he wished his customers “happy Easter” on Facebook.

Mr. Meleagrou-Hitchens said that a number of influential UK anti-blasphemy activists have links to TLP-UK or have publicly praised Mr. Rizvi and called for British Muslims to “learn from his teachings.”

Since Mr. Rizvi’s death, there have been three annual events in the UK organised by TLP-UK commemorating him and “celebrating his work to violently eliminate blasphemy against Islam.”

The reported urged the government to consider adopting anti-blasphemy extremism as a specific category of extremism in the UK and using this term in official statements and documents.

It could, for example, include anti-blasphemy extremism as a category for the multi-agency Prevent programme, which aims to stop individuals becoming terrorists.

Definition of Extremism

The report comes as the government is preparing for fresh suppression of what it terms “extremist views,” with Communities Secretary Michael Gove expected to work on a new definition of extremism this week.

The government’s new definition will replace one in the existing Prevent counter-radicalisation programme, giving “more specificity,” and will enable the government and other public bodies to ban funding and engagement with Islamist and far-right groups.

The current definition extremism in the Prevent strategy is “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.“ It also includes ”calls for the death of members of [the] armed forces.”

However, Conservative MP Miriam Cates warned on social media platform X: “We don’t need a ‘broader definition of extremism.’ This is a slippery slope towards the abolition of fundamental freedoms.”

“Some people think that gender critical views are ‘extreme.’ I think decriminalising abortion to birth is ‘extreme,’” she said.

“The UK has a problem with Islamists who glorify terrorism and intimidate others. These people are committing criminal offences under current law. We just need to enforce the law by prosecuting those who incite violence, glorify terrorism, promote racism and make threats,” added Ms. Cates.

PA Media contributed to this report.