A British Muslim MP demanded the reintroduction of blasphemy laws in a recent Parliamentary session.
Labour MP Tahir Ali urged the British government to make the “desecration” of religious texts and prophets illegal.
Ali said the government should reintroduce blasphemy laws, which were officially written out of the statue books in 2008 and 2021, many years after they were last invoked.
Ali, who represents the Birmingham constituency of Hall Green, which has a majority black, Asian and minority population, said that blasphemy is responsible for the spread of “hatred,” and referred to an UN Human Rights Council resolution that condemned the desecration of religious texts including the Koran.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed his sympathy for Ali’s concerns, and refused to rule out the reintroduction of a blasphemy law.
As The National Pulse notes, Labour faced significant difficulties with Muslim communities during the summer’s snap national election, largely as a result of the party’s policy on the Israel-Gaza war. Independent pro-Palestine candidates stole significant proportions of the Labour vote in a number of key constituencies across the country.