Incitement to Religious Hatred Frequently Asked Questions

If like me you are concerned about the bill on incitement to religious hatred and how it might work vis-a-vis freedom of speech wrt religious matters, then this may help; at least it explains HM government's intentions on the matter. I draw your attention especially to faqs 4 and 10. THe thing to watch is that it does seem that "insulting words" would be regarded as hate speech. In principle I agree. However, it is a phrase that is somewhat a hostage to fortune: insult may be determined by the person who takes offence [I hope that the courts would take views based on what might be reasonable] which in ideological and religious arenas where the most extreme are most likely to find offence, could mean that criticism eg of the Prophet of Islam, even if couched in moderate and non-inflamatory language, could result in prosecution. So if I say that I have seen evidence from within the Muslim sunna that suggests that the prophet, were he alive today, might be liable to be tried for war crimes; I could be open to prosecution because it is not unlikely that some Muslims would find that offensive; that I am using "insulting words".

So we will have to see on that one. On the other hand this is encouraging and a good counterbalance: "It will also protect people targeted because of their lack of religious beliefs or because they do not share the religious beliefs of the perpetrator." Which could mean that because I do not share the faith of Mohammed's followers, I am not allowed to be targetted because I happen to give reasons for that and becasue I hold beliefs which contradict a muslim's estimation of the moral character of Muhammed. ... I think....
Incitement to Religious Hatred Frequently Asked Questions