17/10/2025
The National Secular Society, an organisation which since the nineteenth century, has opposed religious protections in law and has advocated for LGBT+ people to have the freedom to speak against religion, says that it welcomes the courts overturning a conviction for book burning a religious text. The Society was widely quoted in both the right wing and left wing press as saying "Last Friday, we achieved a significant victory for free expression. Hamit Coskun's appeal – which we supported – successfully overturned his conviction for burning a Quran during a peaceful protest outside the Turkish consulate. We backed the appeal, not because we endorse his actions, but because the principle at stake could not be more important: free expression must include, at its heart, protection for speech that offends, shocks, or disturbs. That's why we welcomed the judgment, which resoundingly reasserted that freedom of expression cannot depend on public approval – and that the law is not a mechanism to prevent people from being offended. You can read our chief executive's op-ed on the ruling's significance here. We successfully campaigned for the abolition of blasphemy laws almost two decades ago. Now, we're working to ensure they are not reintroduced by stealth under the banner of "public order."
