A Muslim man who was at first arrested for chasing and attacking a man burning the Quran with a knife has now been spared jail.Moussa Kadri saw Hamit Coskun burning the Quran outside on the street, with Coskun shouting "Islam is a religion of terrorism" and "Quran is burning."Kadri then asked why Coskun was burning the book, calling him "an idiot" and said "one sec, I'm coming back."Kadri kept his promise, coming back to chase Coskun while holding a knife.Coskun then fell to the ground where Kadri kicks him and takes back the Quran.. "You f****** idiot, you burn the Quran!" Kadri said.He proceeded to kick Coskun again and slash the knife in the air. One of the bikers stopped on the street joined Kadri and kicked Coskun. Later, the BBC reported Kadri had told police, "I protect my religion."."His reaction was in the heat of the moment to what he perceived was a deeply offensive act on a holy book," Greg Unwin, defending Kadri said.Coskun was found guilty in June at Westminster Magistrates Court of a religiously aggravated public order offence. Coskun had argued his criticism was of Islam rather than its followers.The case has been filed for appeal with the UK's Crown Court.District Judge John McGarva said he would not accept this because he found Coskun's actions "highly provocative" and "motivated at least in part by hatred of Muslims.".Kadri has pleaded guilty to the assault to having a blade in a public place and is required to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and 10 days of rehabilitation.As Coskun wrote for the Free Press, "The reasoning deployed to convict me raises troubling questions about whether Britain is witnessing the quiet return of blasphemy laws.""Although the man who assaulted me is being prosecuted separately, the Crown says his action helped to prove my guilt.""It argued that because I was attacked, my behavior must not have been peaceful."."Under this logic, “disorderly” no longer depends on conduct, but on how offended or aggressive someone else chooses to be in response."
