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Anti-blasphemy laws still exist in many countries, most notably in Pakistan where blasphemy can carry the death penalty. However, blasphemy laws were abolished in England and Wales in 2008.
The Henry Jackson Society has identified “Extreme Action Against Blasphemy” as a growing danger to the principles of the UK’s liberal democratic order, including freedom of speech and freedom of religion.
The report “Britain’s New Blasphemy Police? Understanding Muslim Action Against Blasphemy in the UK” found that some individuals and organizations in the UK, particularly those with links to Pakistan, particularly the Sunni Berlevi sect, hold extreme anti-blasphemy views and are willing to resort to violence to defend Islam.
“Two organizations were found frequently associated with anti-blasphemy work in the UK, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) and elements of the Khatam-Nabawat movement,” the report said, noting that anti-blasphemy preachers from Pakistan and Bangladesh were allowed to preach in Britain at institutions associated with anti-blasphemy work.
It calls on the UK government to consider banning some organizations in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The report, written by Charlotte Littlewood, refers to a Batley incident in 2021 in which a teacher is suspended and forced into hiding over a cartoon; the Wakefield incident where a 14-year-old non-Muslim boy dropped a Quran and was suspended from school and his family received death threats, prompting his mother to vow to make her son seek Islam; “Lady of Heaven”, which was canceled by cinemas after widespread protests by Muslims; The Jewel of the City book, which was seized due to threats from the publishing house. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Asad Shah was murdered in Glasgow in 2016.
The report criticizes the responses of “some local councilors” to anti-blasphemy incidents, saying, “They have sometimes appeared to support actions taken to combat blasphemy.”
It calls for more stringent immigration scrutiny of preachers, an investigation into the instigators of protests in Batley and Wakefield to determine links to extremists abroad, and a call for the Department of Education to “prioritize the safety of staff and pupils and the ability to teach without censorship”.
The report concludes, “Acceptance of an implicit anti-blasphemy law contradicts our democratic values while also presenting a threat to national security.”
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