Speakers’ Corner becoming ‘Sharia Corner’
by Tim Dieppe, Christian Concern:
Speakers’ Corner is known as the home of free speech. Yet a brave Christian preacher has once again been arrested there because she was being critical of Islam.
Hatun Tash is a regular feature at Speakers’ Corner. Just last September she was escorted out of Speakers’ Corner by police; again, because she was being critical of Islam. Hatun has been warned that there are Muslims who want to kill her and that it is therefore dangerous for her to attend Speakers’ Corner. But Hatun is not intimidated or cowed. Even though she has been assaulted there before, she continues to preach there every week. She feels called to preach to the Muslims there and she is very effective in her ministry.
Provocative style
Hatun’s style is provocative. Deliberately so. This is how she attracts attention and gets people to listen. In September, the offending item was a copy of the Qur’an with holes drilled through it as a visual aid to point out that there are holes in the narrative around the Qur’an. As I pointed out then, no other book with holes in it would cause any problems or be seen as beyond the bounds of free speech. Only if we are effectively enforcing sharia law would we prohibit display of a Qur’an with holes in it.
Last Sunday she was wearing a T-shirt with a cartoon of Mohammad on it. Cartoons of any other figures would be clearly within the bounds of free speech. Only if we are effectively enforcing sharia law would a cartoon of Muhammad be prohibited. This is the home of free speech after all.
Home of free speech or not, Hatun was arrested, carried into a police van to cheers by the Muslim mob. She was held overnight in a police cell, before being released without charge. You can watch a video of the arrest here.
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