Inciting censorship: Brits vs. blasphemy.

• Author: Freund, Charles Paul
• Position: Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill, incitement of religious hatred - Brief Article

BRITISH PRIME Minister Tony Blair's government has added a measure to the proposed Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill that would create a new offense: "incitement of religious hatred." This follows two notable events last year: a play called Bezhti that upset many Sikhs (the playwright went into hiding) and the BBC broadcast of Ferry Springer: The Opera, which prompted some Christians to burn their TV licenses. (British televisions are licensed by the state, which uses the proceeds from the fees to fund the BBC.)

English PEN, the writers' group, protested the proposed law and requested a meeting with the home secretary. Salman Rushdie complained too. In a letter to The Guardian, the author of The Satanic Verses noted that "the continuing collapse of liberal, democratic, secular and humanist principles in the face of the increasingly strident demands of organised religions is perhaps the most...