English Defence League march in support of Geert Wilders, March, 2010. Photo credit: Belkus


A British man who stole a copy of the Koran from a library and set it on fire in front of a town monument has been jailed for 70 days for “theatrical bigotry.” The verdict has prompted the right-wing English Defence League to urge supporters to read, not burn the holy book so as to “understand why so many Muslims behave the way they do.”

Ex-serviceman Andrew Ryan, who had six public order convictions between 2002 and 2010, stole a copy of the holy book from Carlisle Library on January 19 and was arrested by police after burning it in front of Carlisle Cross as a crowd gathered to hear his protests against radical Islam. When arrested and interviewed by police, Ryan told officers: “I just hope I have not caused World War Three.” Sentencing Ryan at Carlisle Magistrates’ Court, District Judge Gerald Chalk said: “This is a case of theatrical bigotry … You went out to cause maximum publicity and to cause distress.”

  • Response to poppy burning. Alastair Taylor at The Sun examined what prompted Ryan to act as he did and concluded it was a response to Islamic extremists burning replica poppies in London on Armistice Day. “Ryan, 32, ‘lost it’ after watching videos of extremists which also included them abusing soldiers returning from duty in Afghanistan. After stealing a £5 copy of the Islamic holy book from a library he stood on a bench in a street and set it alight, yelling: ‘You burn our poppies, I’ll burn your Koran.’”
  • Ryan: EDL division member? Andy Bloxham of The Daily Telegraph talked up Ryan’s links to the English Defence League: “Prior to the hearing, a Facebook page created by the ‘English Defence League Carlisle Division’ urged visitors to support ‘Division Member’ Ryan in his court appearance. Around 10 men sat in the public gallery but walked out when District Judge Chalk announced the sentence. Comments of ‘what a joke’ and ‘call that justice’ were made as they left the courtroom.”
  • Think before you burn the Quran, implored the English Defence League leadership at EnglishDefenceLeague.org: “We are strongly discouraging EDL members from burning the quaran because it puts our soldiers at even greater risk than they would otherwise be. The responsibility for violence lies 100% with those who kill and rage over perceived sleights. But because we know they are violent, irrational, and crazy, and we don’t want to endanger British troops, we are advising against doing so. Under no circumstances are we surrendering to the murderous sensibilities of the Islamic supremacists: we just know we’re better than they are.” “The bottom line is this: don’t burn the quran, read it,” boomed the EDL. “Most of what you need to know about Islam is in there and, along with the stories about the life of Muhammad, you’ll understand why so many Muslims behave the way they do. We should be allowed to burn the quran: but what Muslims really fear is that we will read it and understand the call of Islam to conquer and rule the whole world.”
  • Choudhury got off lightly? A Daily Express reporter seemed to express some displeasure at the severity of the Ryan verdict in comparison to the poppy-burning decision. “He was jailed weeks after Muslim extremist Emadur Choudhury escaped with a £50 fine – paid from his £850-a-month benefits – for burning a poppy during the two minutes’ silence in London last year.”