Humanist parliamentarians demand end to blasphemy laws

Humanist parliamentarians have called for an end to blasphemy laws and for freedom of speech to be upheld at home and abroad at a meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG) yesterday. 

MPs and peers heard from Mubarak Bala, the former President of the Nigerian Humanist Association, in his first speech to the UK Parliament after having been freed early from his 24-year jail sentence for blasphemy. His case had been raised by Foreign Office ministers with their Nigerian opposites, and over 50 times in the UK Parliament. They also heard from Lord Walney, author of the previous Government’s Protecting our Democracy from Coercion independent review; David Smith MP, the PM’s Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief; and Lucy Potter, who working with Humanists UK has just finished the first ever PhD in the world on non-religious asylum claims.

The meeting was chaired by APPHG Chair Lizzi Collinge MP. Humanists UK President Dr Adam Rutherford also addressed parliamentarians and called on them to uphold freedom of speech. He explained that blasphemy laws are prone to abuse, and prioritise what others consider are the ‘correct’ religion or belief, and justify blasphemy laws in other countries.

Mubarak Bala was imprisoned in 2020 for 24 years for blasphemy. But he was released earlier this year after his sentence was cut on his appeal. He told his story to MPs and peers for the first time: that having left Islam he was sent to a psychiatric hospital, forced to leave his home and state, and arrested. He called on the UK and western governments to repeal their blasphemy laws and explained that when he was arrested he was told ‘even the British have blasphemy laws’. 

Lord Walney gave an overview of his review’s findings and recommendations. He identified that while England and Wales repealed its blasphemy laws in 2008, and Scotland in 2024, with laws still in place in Northern Ireland, there remains levels of dangerous ambiguity within the legal system, with people not protected from blasphemy-inspired persecution, and schools and other authorities having insufficient guidance. He also referred to the prosecutions of the recent Quran burnings, which Humanists UK has warned effectively reestablish blasphemy laws in England and Wales.

Lucy Potter of the University of Sheffield explained how non-religious asylum claims often involve accusations of blasphemy. She recommended that the Home Office should update its asylum guidance and train staff to handle non-religious/apostasy claims fairly, and called on the UK Government to protect those fleeing persecution on the basis of blasphemy laws and call for their global repeal.

David Smith MP talked about the huge work that the Government did to free Mubarak Bala and how important it is to continue that work. He outlined how vital freedom of expression is and the Government’s opposition to blasphemy laws at home and abroad.

With the new domestic issues the UK is facing in relation to blasphemy laws, from the Quran burnings to advertising censorship to mob-inspired enforcement, the meeting could not have been more timely. Parliamentarians will be looking to take forward these matters to make sure freedom of expression is upheld.

Humanists UK provides the secretariat to the APPHG.