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Koran burning conviction sparks fury as blasphemy law 'returns to UK'

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Koran burning conviction sparks fury as blasphemy law 'returns to UK'

Man who set fire to Islamic holy book has been convicted by a court despite warnings about free speech.Koran burning conviction sparks fury as blasphemy laW.

A British court has been accused of single-handedly reviving blasphemy laws in Britain after a man who burnt the Koran while shouting "f*** Islam" was found guilty. Hamit Coskun, an asylum seeker from Turkey, was filmed burning the book while shouting that Islam was the "religion of terrorism” outside the Turkish Consulate in February.

He was violently attacked by a passerby during the protest. Coskun was found guilty of a racially aggravated public order offence at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday. He was said to have been motivated “in part by hostility towards members of a religious group, namely followers of Islam”. District Judge John McGarva insisted the prosecution was not “an attempt to bring back and expand blasphemy law.”

He said: “A decision needs to be made as to whether your conduct was simply you exercising your right to protest and freedom of speech or whether your behaviour crossed a line into criminal conduct.”

The court ignored the warnings of Coskun’s barrister, who argued that the charges against her client amounted to blasphemy laws.

Judge McGarva said: “You believe Islam is an ideology which encourages its followers to violent paedophilia and a disregard for the rights of non-believers.

Reacting the the court's decision, Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “This decision is wrong. It revives a blasphemy law that Parliament repealed."

Referring to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, he added: “Free speech is under threat. I have no confidence in Two-Tier Keir to defend the right of the public to criticise all religions.”

He was echoed by fellow Conservative MP and No 10 chief of staff Nick Timothy, who said the ruling means “we now have a blasphemy law in this country”.

The former Home Office special adviser added: “Parliament never voted for it. The country doesn’t want it. I will introduce a Bill to put a stop to all this next week.

Tommy Robinson charged with harassment causing fear of violence

Hamit Coskun burnt the Koran during the protest (Image: Social Media)

The court ignored the warnings of Coskun’s barrister, who argued that the charges against her client amounted to blasphemy laws.

Judge McGarva said: “You believe Islam is an ideology which encourages its followers to violent paedophilia and a disregard for the rights of non-believers.

“You don’t distinguish between the two. I find you have a deep-seated hatred of Islam and its followers. That is based on your experiences in Turkey and the experiences of your family.”

He ordered the protester, who is now in hiding, to pay a fine of £240.

However the decision has sparked immediate outrage from senior politicians, including the Tories’ shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick who condemned the move as a return to blasphemy laws of old.

Reacting the the court's decision, Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “This decision is wrong. It revives a blasphemy law that Parliament repealed."

Referring to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, he added: “Free speech is under threat. I have no confidence in Two-Tier Keir to defend the right of the public to criticise all religions.”

“Will the Government let it through or block it?”

Independent MP Rupert Lowe currently has an Early Day Motion demanding the resisting of blasphemy laws and the right to reject, mock or criticise religious ideas.

So far, just four MPs have signed it.

Reference: Express: By Christian Calgie, Senior Political Correspondent

Robert Francis Prevost - Pope Leo XIV

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Biography of Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost

Prior to his election as Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. Here is the biography of the 267th

Bishop of Rome.

By Vatican News

The first Augustinian Pope, Leo XIV is the second Roman Pontiff - after Pope Francis - from the Americas. Unlike Jorge Mario Bergoglio, however, the 69-year-old Robert Francis Prevost is from the northern part of the continent, though he spent many years as a missionary in Peru before being elected head of the Augustinians for two consecutive terms.

First Augustinian Pope

The new Bishop of Rome was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, to Louis Marius Prevost, of French and Italian descent, and Mildred Martínez, of Spanish descent. He has two brothers, Louis Martín and John Joseph.

He spent his childhood and adolescence with his family and studied first at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers and then at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where in 1977 he earned a Degree in Mathematics and also studied Philosophy.

On September 1 of the same year, Prevost entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine (O.S.A.) in Saint Louis, in the Province of Our Lady of Good Counsel of Chicago, and made his first profession on September 2, 1978. On August 29, 1981, he made his solemn vows.

The future Pontiff received his theological education at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. At the age of 27, he was sent by his superiors to Rome to study Canon Law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum).

In Rome, he was ordained a priest on June 19, 1982, at the Augustinian College of Saint Monica by Archbishop Jean Jadot, then pro-president of the Secretariat for Non-Christians, which later became the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and then the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.

Prevost obtained his licentiate in 1984 and the following year, while preparing his doctoral thesis, was sent to the Augustinian mission in Chulucanas, Piura, Peru (1985–1986). In 1987, he defended his doctoral thesis on "The Role of the Local Prior in the Order of Saint Augustine" and was appointed vocation director and missions director of the Augustinian Province of “Mother of Good Counsel” in Olympia Fields, Illinois (USA).

Mission in Peru

The following year, he joined the mission in Trujillo, also in Peru, as director of the joint formation project for Augustinian candidates from the vicariates of Chulucanas, Iquitos, and Apurímac.

Over the course of eleven years, he served as prior of the community (1988–1992), formation director (1988–1998), and instructor for professed members (1992–1998), and in the Archdiocese of Trujillo as judicial vicar (1989–1998) and professor of Canon Law, Patristics, and Moral Theology at the Major Seminary “San Carlos y San Marcelo.” At the same time, he was also entrusted with the pastoral care of Our Lady Mother of the Church, later established as the parish of Saint Rita (1988–1999), in a poor suburb of the city, and was parish administrator of Our Lady of Monserrat from 1992 to 1999.

In 1999, he was elected Provincial Prior of the Augustinian Province of “Mother of Good Counsel” in Chicago, and two and a half years later, the ordinary General Chapter of the Order of Saint Augustine, elected him as Prior General, confirming him in 2007 for a second term.

In October 2013, he returned to his Augustinian Province in Chicago, serving as director of formation at the Saint Augustine Convent, first councilor, and provincial vicar—roles he held until Pope Francis appointed him on November 3, 2014, as Apostolic Administrator of the Peruvian Diocese of Chiclayo, elevating him to the episcopal dignity as Titular Bishop of Sufar.

He entered the Diocese on November 7, in the presence of Apostolic Nuncio James Patrick Green, who ordained him Bishop just over a month later, on December 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the Cathedral of Saint Mary.

His episcopal motto is “In Illo uno unum”—words pronounced by Saint Augustine in a sermon on Psalm 127 to explain that “although we Christians are many, in the one Christ we are one.”

Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, from 2015 to 2023

On September 26, 2015, he was appointed Bishop of Chiclayo by Pope Francis. In March 2018, he was elected second vice-president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference, where he also served as a member of the Economic Council and president of the Commission for Culture and Education.

In 2019, Pope Francis appointed him a member of the Congregation for the Clergy (July 13, 2019), and in 2020, a member of the Congregation for Bishops (November 21). Meanwhile, on April 15, 2020, he was also appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Peruvian Diocese of Callao.

Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops

On January 30, 2023, the Pope called him to Rome as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, promoting him to the rank of Archbishop.

Created Cardinal in 2023

Pope Francis created him Cardinal in the Consistory of September 30, 2023, and assigned him the Diaconate of Saint Monica. He officially took possession of his titular church on January 28, 2024.

As head of the Dicastery, he participated in the Pope’s most recent Apostolic Journeys and in both the first and second sessions of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on synodality, held in Rome from October 4 to 29, 2023, and from October 2 to 27, 2024, respectively.

Meanwhile, on October 4, 2023, Pope Francis appointed him as a member of the Dicasteries for Evangelization (Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches), for the Doctrine of the Faith, for the Eastern Churches, for the Clergy, for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, for Culture and Education, for Legislative Texts, and of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State.

Finally, on February 6 of this year, the Argentine Pope promoted him to the Order of Bishops, granting him the title of the Suburbicarian Church of Albano.

Three days later, on February 9, he celebrated the Mass presided over by Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square for the Jubilee of the Armed Forces, the second major event of the Holy Year of Hope.

During the most recent hospitalization of his predecessor at the “Gemelli” hospital, Prevost presided over the Rosary for Pope Francis’s health in Saint Peter’s Square on March 3.

Reference: Vatican News: 08 May 2025, 20:28

Pope Francis' death follows recent health challenges. Here's what we know about how he died.

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Pope Francis' death follows recent health challenges. Here's what we know about how he died.

Pope Francis' death Monday at the age of 88 comes after the Catholic leader experienced a number of health issues in recent years.

Francis died at 7:35 a.m. Monday at his residence, the Vatican said. His official cause of death was not immediately revealed.

The pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, long battled health problems and was especially prone to respiratory illnesses in the winter.

In July 2021, he spent 10 days in the hospital following intestinal surgery for a bowel narrowing. In March 2023, he was hospitalized for three days and received intravenous antibiotics for bronchitis. A few months later, in June 2023, he was back in the hospital to have surgery to remove intestinal scar tissue and repair a hernia in the abdominal wall.

Since 2022, he often used a wheelchair, walker or cane due to knee injuries, and he had suffered recently from multiple falls.

Here's a breakdown of his most recent bout of health challenges earlier this year:

Feb. 6, 2025: Francis was diagnosed with bronchitis, but continued to hold daily audiences — though he handed off his speeches for an aide to read aloud, saying he was having trouble breathing.

Feb. 14, 2025: Francis was hospitalized to treat bronchitis and undergo diagnostic tests. A spokesperson said he was expected to be there for "a few days."

Feb. 17, 2025: Francis' respiratory tract infection presented a "complex clinical picture" that required further hospitalization, the Vatican said at the time. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said tests indicated the pope was suffering from a "polymicrobial respiratory tract infection" that called for a further change in his drug therapy.

Feb. 18, 2025: Francis developed bilateral pneumonia, meaning the pneumonia was in both of his lungs. The illness was discovered after Francis underwent a chest CT scan, the Vatican said. According to the statement, Francis was in a good mood and spent the day resting, praying and reading.

Feb. 23, 2025: Francis remained in critical condition as blood tests showed early kidney failure. The Vatican said he remained alert and "well-oriented." While he hadn't had any more respiratory crises since the night before, he was still receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen.

Feb. 26, 2025: Blood tests confirmed a slight improvement in the pope's health, according to a Vatican update, and the slight kidney insufficiency detected a few days prior had receded. Francis continued to receive respiratory physiotherapy to help him expel fluid from his lungs.

Feb. 28, 2025: Francis experienced a bronchospasm, which is when the muscles that line the airways in the lungs tighten. The incident caused him to inhale vomit, but he responded well to being treated with noninvasive mechanical ventilation, according to the Vatican.

March 1, 2025: Pope Francis had a calm night after the bronchial crisis caused a setback to his recovery. In an update, the Vatican said he had coffee, read newspapers and was able to move and sit in his armchair.

March 3, 2025: Francis suffered "two episodes of acute respiratory failure" over the course of the day, which the Vatican said were caused by "significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus and consequent bronchospasm."

March 8, 2025: The Vatican said Pope Francis was showing "gradual, slight improvement" amid his pneumonia treatment.

March 10, 2025: Doctors said Pope Francis was no longer in imminent danger of death from pneumonia, but they decided to keep him hospitalized longer to receive treatment.

March 14, 2025: Francis marked the 12th anniversary of his papacy from his hospital room. It was also the one-month mark since he was hospitalized.

March 23, 2025: After five weeks, Francis left Rome's Gemelli hospital after surviving the life-threatening bout of pneumonia.

March 26, 2025: An interview with Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the head of Pope Francis' medical team, revealed Francis came close to dying on two separate occasions before he was allowed to return to his home at the Vatican over the weekend. Alfieri told an Italian newspaper that the medical team even considered letting the pope die at one critical point on Feb. 28 when Francis had suffered a breathing crisis after inhaling his own vomit during a coughing fit. Alfieri described it as "the worst" day of the pope's 38-day hospitalization.

The Associated Press and Anna Matranga contributed to this report.

By : Sarahb Moniuszko: Nicole Brown Chau: April 21st, 2025.