Irish Pastor Found Not Guilty of Crime for Saying 'Islam Is Satanic' in Sermon
An Irish pastor who was criminally charged for saying in a sermon that "Islam is satanic" has been found not guilty of making grossly offensive remarks by a Belfast judge Tuesday.
Pastor James McConnell, the 78-year-old retired pastor of the Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle in Belfast, was accused of spewing offensive hate speech during a May 2014 sermon when he stated "Islam is heathen, Islam is satanic, Islam is a doctrine spawned in hell."
McConnell also claimed in his sermon that cells of Muslims have spread all over the U.K. and explained that "people say there are good Muslims in Britain — that may be so — but I don't trust them."
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McConnell was charged with improper use of public electronic communications network and using the communications network to say grossly offensive remarks. He was prosecuted under Ireland's 2003 Communications Act.
McConnell denied both charges and told the court that he never meant to personally offend anybody.
"I was attacking the theology of Islam. I was not attacking any individual Muslim. I didn't realise that good Muslim people would be hurt," McConnell said. "I didn't go into the church to provoke anyone. I went into church to present the truth."
While Judge Liam McNally believed that the remarks from McConnell's sermon were offensive, he did not believe his remarks qualified as "grossly offensive."
"The courts need to be very careful not to criminalize speech which, however contemptible, is no more than offensive," McNally was quoted by the BBC as saying. "It is not the task of the criminal law to censor offensive utterances."
Many free speech supporters from a variety of beliefs and backgrounds defended McConnell's right to call Islam satanic, including an Islamic scholar and an Irish atheist.
Boyd Sleator, chairman of Atheist NI (Northern Ireland) a nonprofit organization, spoke out Sunday to criticize the judicial system for charging McConnell for his remarks and compared the law used to prosecute McConnell to blasphemy laws.
"Pastor McConnell's remarks will strike many as offensive and irresponsible, but as a society we ought to resist the urge to declare things criminal simply because they might hurt our feelings," Sleator told the News Letter. "That a judge is left to decide whether or not Pastor McConnell's remarks are worthy of legal consequences may set a precedent for all manner of irreverence and criticism being deemed against the law."
"Few people at Atheist NI would admit to having a liking for anything Pastor McConnell has to say, but we do support his right to say them," he continued.
Last month, Sheikh Muhammad Al-Hussaini, a senior fellow in Islamic studies at the Westminster Institute, also came to the defense of McConnell's freedom of speech in an op-ed published by the Irish Times where he explained that "it is the very freedom of speech of Christians and Muslims to disagree and critique religious ideas that is on trial here."
Al-Hussaini also acted as a defense witness in the trial.
Peter Lynas, national director of the Evangelical Alliance Northern Ireland, applauded the court's ruling but warned that speech censorship laws need to be reviewed.
"Today's verdict is a victory for common sense and freedom of speech. However, until the law is changed or clear guidance is issued, there will still be concern about further prosecution," Lynas said in a statement. "The Public Prosecution Service need to explain why this case was brought and assure everyone that this will not happen again."
"This case contains challenges to both the State and the Church," Lynas added. "It is vital that the State does not stray into the censorship of church sermons or unwittingly create a right not to be offended. Meanwhile, the Church must steward its freedom of speech responsibly, so as to present Jesus in a gracious and appealing way to everyone."
