When a Wakefield boy brought a Koran to school

By suspending those students and logging their behaviour as a 'hate incident', the school and police are effectively saying that the mob has a point – that the boys should be punished for 'disrespecting' Islam's holy book. You'd be forgiven for thinking that Wakefield had become an Islamic theocracy overnight. This is blasphemy law by the backdoor – and by caving in to mob intolerance the authorities have done nothing to remove the target from these boys' backs.

This shameful episode in Wakefield should be a wake-up call. We must face down the religious intolerance that has been curdling in our midst. Right now, we are enabling it, due to a mix of cowardice and a bizarre new conviction that it is racist to offend religious conservatives.

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