Britain's unofficial blasphemy laws have been decades in the making

Defenders of free expression can breathe a collective sigh of relief. Hamit Coskun – the man who burnt a Quran outside the Turkish Consulate in London in February and was found guilty of a ‘religiously aggravated public order offence’ – had his conviction overturned at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.

People are still scared to blaspheme against Islam. We already live under unofficial blasphemy laws enforced by fear

Coskun exercised his freedom of conscience and felt the iron fist of the law. His original trial even bordered on victim-blaming. The fact that he was attacked on the street by a Muslim man wielding a knife was effectively used against him, with the judge adducing this as proof that Coskun had engaged in ‘disorderly behaviour’ .

Thankfully, common sense prevailed. At South