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PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Prosecutors have charged a man for burning a Quran in England, which critics say could introduce blasphemy laws back to the country.
👥 Who’s Involved: Prosecutors, Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick, Hamit Coskun.
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📍 Where & When: Charges were laid after Coskun burned the Quran as part of a protest earlier this year.
💬 Key Quote: “It is not for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) or courts to create a blasphemy law in this country by the back door.” — Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Robert Jenrick.
⚠️ Impact: If the prosecution continues and Coskun is found guilty, it could introduce a new de facto blasphemy law into the British legal system.
IN FULL:
British prosecutors have criminally charged a man under the Public Order Act after setting fire to a copy of the Islamic Quran, claiming that he was “harassing” the religion by doing so. Critics have warned that the case could set a precedent for a quasi-blasphemy law in the United Kingdom if the man is convicted.
Hamit Coskun has been charged with harassing the religion, which the prosecutor claims is an “institution” in Britain. It is the first time anyone has been charged with such an offense, as prior to the case, religions like Islam were not considered “persons.”
Shadow Justice Secretary and former Conservative Party leadership contender Robert Jenrick sharply criticised the move to prosecute Coskun. “Burning the Quran, like any religious text, is something that some people find very offensive and few people would condone, but that’s not the point. There are many things in our society that people find offensive, but that doesn’t make them criminal,” Jenrick said.
He added that Britain scrapped blasphemy laws nearly two decades prior, saying it was “right to do so.” He insisted: “It is not for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) or courts to create a blasphemy law in this country by the back door.”
The case came just months after another man in Manchester was admonished by a judge for tearing out a page of a Quran and burning it. According to the judge, the book was “sacred” and such actions were not permissible in a “tolerant” society.
Some Muslim lawmakers in Britain, including members of the ruling Labour Party, have called for blasphemy laws to return to the country. Tahir Ali MP urged the government to ban the desecration of religious texts, something Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer refused to rule out at the time.
PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, elected as the first American pope, previously criticized President Donald J. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance’s stance on immigration.
👥 Who’s Involved: Pope Leo XIV, President Trump, Vice President Vance, and the late Pope Francis.
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📍 Where & When: Vatican City, with the election confirmed on May 8, 2025.
⚠️ Impact: Pope Leo XIV’s election is a point of national pride for the U.S., but, despite President Trump’s gracious response to his election, the pontiff’s past critiques of America First policies suggest he may attempt to undermine the Trump administration.
IN FULL:
Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV previously criticized President Donald J. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance on immigration, sharing articles on X (formerly Twitter) calling the America First leader’s “rhetoric” on immigration “problematic” and criticizing his vice president’s stance on a Christian’s ties of obligation to his country and family.
The newly elected pontiff, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, has a repost of an X user criticizing President Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele for the deportation of alleged gang member, domestic abuser, and human trafficker Kilmar Abrego Garcia at the top of his timeline.
In 2015, he shared an article by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, titled ‘Why Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric is so problematic.’
More recently, he used the @drprevost account to amplify criticism of Vice President J.D. Vance. He shared two articles attacking Vance, who was responding to the late Pope Francis’s thinly veiled criticism of Trump’s mass deportation policy, for saying that it is in line with Church teaching that “you love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritize the rest of the world.”
Vance, a Catholic convert, cited the doctrine of ordo amoris, Latin for “order of love,” first outlined by the great 4th–5th-century theologian St. Augustine, angering liberal clergy—apparently including the future Pope Leo XIV—who were pushing the line that illegal immigrants should be given the same consideration as relatives and fellow citizens.
Nevertheless, President Trump has welcomed the new pontiff’s election, writing on his Truth Social platform, writing, “Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”
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