Islam and Free Speech in the UK

A poll of British Muslims conducted jointly in 2007 by the Guardian newspaper and ICM Research found that almost 60% agreed that people in Britain who insult or criticise Islam should be subject to criminal prosecution.

More recently, following the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris, the ComRes polling agency carried out a widely publicised survey of British Muslims and their attitudes towards blasphemy and extremism in the UK. Despite mainstream media attempts to present the results of the poll as somehow encouraging, what they actually showed was that 27% of British Muslims (over a quarter) said they have some sympathy for the motives behind the Paris attacks, while 24% felt that violence against those who publish images of Muhammad can sometimes be justified.

This would seem to explain why there have been a number of public Muslim demonstrations in the UK – often attended in the thousands or even tens of thousands – advocating the criminalisation of criticism of Islam, and not a single one in support of freedom of speech.