The Flames of Dissent: Reflecting on the 1989 Bradford Book Burning and Its Enduring Legacy

On January 14th, 1989, in the streets of Bradford, West Yorkshire, a city with a significant Muslim community, around 1,000 protesters, organised by local Muslim leaders including members of the Bradford Council of Mosques, marched through the city centre. They publicly burned a copy of Salman Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses, symbolically tying it to a stake before setting it alight outside a police station. This act drew intense global media attention and evoked strong comparisons to historical instances of intolerance, such as book burnings under authoritarian regimes.

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https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/17461095.30-years-satanic-verses-book-burning-bradford-moved-on

The protest stemmed from deep outrage among many Muslims who regarded certain passages in the book, particularly dream sequences reimagining elements of Islamic history, as blasphemous toward the Prophet Muhammad and the faith itself. The novel had already been banned in several Muslim-majority countries, including India, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, following its UK publication in September 1988. While a smaller burning had taken place in Bolton in December 1988, the Bradford event’s scale and visibility made it infamous, escalating the controversy and contributing to the fatwa issued by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini on February 14th, 1989, calling for Rushdie’s death.

Against the Act, But For the Freedom

Book burning itself is an act of intolerance and attempted censorship. It symbolises the suppression of ideas rather than reasoned engagement with them, recalling dark historical precedents from Nazi Germany to medieval inquisitions. In Bradford, the burning sought to erase what protesters perceived as an attack on their beliefs, but it actually served as portraying an entire community as hostile to literary freedom and open discourse. Such gestures often deepen divisions rather than resolve them, amplifying polarisation in a multicultural society.

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Nevertheless, in a free society like Britain, the right to protest, even through provocative and offensive means, must be upheld. The Bradford demonstrators exercised their freedom of expression without breaking laws in a peaceful manner. Protecting this right is essential; suppressing such protests would constitute censorship and erode the principles that enable works like Rushdie’s novel to be published and debated. Freedom of speech encompasses the liberty to dissent vigorously, provided it remains non-violent and does not incite direct harm.

From Protest to Peril: The Rise of Threats and Violence

What started as symbolic protest soon spiralled into far greater danger. The Bradford burning fuelled a worldwide backlash, leading to Khomeini’s fatwa and a bounty on Rushdie’s head. In the UK, this emboldened extremists: bookstores stocking the novel faced bombings and threats, including attacks on Collets and Dillons in London in April 1989, as well as unexploded devices at other Penguin outlets.

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Over the following decades, this pattern of intimidation and violence has intensified in the UK, with death threats and attacks from some Muslim extremists becoming more organised and emboldened. A 2024 UK government report on blasphemy extremism documented at least 11 related plots, attacks, or illegal threats of violence since 1988, including two terrorism convictions in 2023. Much of this draws from ideologies imported from Pakistan, particularly linked to groups like Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and Khatme Nabuwaat movements, which advocate vigilante action against perceived blasphemers.

Key examples illustrate this escalation:

  • In 2016, Glasgow shopkeeper Asad Shah, an Ahmadi Muslim, was murdered by Tanveer Ahmed, who travelled from Bradford to confront him over alleged blasphemy; Ahmed has since been celebrated as a hero by some Pakistani extremists.
  • In 2021, a teacher at Batley Grammar School showed a caricature of Muhammad in a religious education lesson, triggering protests, death threats, and a campaign of intimidation that forced him into hiding. The school suspended him, and authorities were criticised for inadequate protection, appearing to yield to mob pressure. He remains in hiding!
  • In 2022, screenings of the Shia-influenced film The Lady of Heaven were cancelled across the UK, including by Cineworld, following protests from Sunni Muslims who deemed it blasphemous; cinemas cited safety fears amid picketing.
  • In 2023, four schoolboys in Wakefield faced death threats after slightly damaging a Quran (minor scuffs and a small tear), leading to their suspension and community meetings at mosques, another case of de facto blasphemy enforcement through intimidation.

These incidents, alongside Rushdie’s own near-fatal stabbing in 2022 (linked to the long-standing fatwa), demonstrate how initial symbolic protests have evolved into a climate where perceived blasphemy triggers organised threats, violence, and self-censorship. While the 1989 burning was non-violent, it marked the beginning of a trajectory where freedom of expression has increasingly been met with coercion and danger in Britain.

Islamist Terror Attacks and Plots on UK Soil

Since the Bradford protest, the UK has faced numerous Islamist terrorist attacks and foiled plots, many inspired by global jihadist ideologies from groups like al-Qaeda, ISIS, and their affiliates. These have resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries, underscoring an emboldened threat landscape.

Major attacks include:

  • 7 July 2005 London bombings (7/7): Four suicide bombers attacked London Underground trains and a bus, killing 52 people and injuring over 700. Inspired by al-Qaeda.
  • Murder of Lee Rigby (2013): Two Islamist extremists ran over and stabbed British soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich, London, killing him in a brutal attack.
  • Westminster Bridge attack (2017): Khalid Masood drove into pedestrians and stabbed a police officer, killing 5 and injuring 49.
  • Manchester Arena bombing (2017): Salman Abedi detonated a bomb at an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 (including children) and injuring over 1,000.
  • London Bridge attack (2017): Three attackers drove into pedestrians and stabbed people in Borough Market, killing 8 and injuring 48.
  • Parsons Green bombing (2017): Ahmed Hassan partially detonated a bomb on a Tube train, injuring 30.
  • Fishmongers’ Hall attack (2019): Usman Khan stabbed two people to death at a prisoner rehabilitation event.
  • Streatham stabbing (2020): Sudesh Amman stabbed two people before being shot by police.
  • Reading Park stabbings (2020): Khairi Saadallah killed three men in a park, shouting “Allahu Akbar.”

Numerous plots have been foiled, including the 2006 transatlantic aircraft liquid bomb plot, 2010 London Stock Exchange plot, and recent 2025 incidents like a 15-year-old arrested for planning an attack and membership in a proscribed group. Since 2017, police have disrupted over 30 Islamist-related plots. Islamist terrorism accounts for about 75% of MI5’s caseload.

Intimidation and Its Broader Impacts

Beyond direct violence, intimidation has created a chilling effect on free speech and community relations. This includes threats against individuals accused of blasphemy, as seen in the Batley and Wakefield cases, and broader harassment campaigns. Imported ideologies from groups like TLP have fuelled protests and threats, leading to self-censorship in schools, media, and public institutions. Ahmadi Muslims face particular risks, with murders like that of Jalal Uddin in 2016 by ISIS supporters.

Grooming Gangs: Weaponization of Race and Religion

The UK’s grooming gangs scandals, particularly in Rotherham, Rochdale, Oxford, and other towns, reveal another dimension where race and religion were weaponised to evade accountability. Between 1997 and 2013 in Rotherham alone, around 1,400 children, mostly white British girls, were sexually exploited by gangs predominantly of Pakistani heritage. Similar patterns emerged in Rochdale (hundreds abused 2005-2013), Oxford (systematic abuse uncovered in 2013), and elsewhere. Authorities failed to act decisively due to fears of being labelled racist, prioritising community cohesion over child protection. Police and councils suppressed reports, ignored evidence, and treated victims dismissively, viewing them as complicit due to classist and sexist biases. This reluctance stemmed from nervousness about identifying perpetrators’ ethnicity, leading to a “conspiracy of silence.” Even politicians like Ann Cryer faced backlash for raising the issue. While not all perpetrators were Muslim, (the majority were Pakistani Muslim), the scandals highlight how accusations of racism shielded abusers, allowing exploitation to persist.

Recent Attempts to Define Islamophobia and Controversies

In recent years (2023-2026), efforts to define Islamophobia in UK law or guidance have intensified. A 2025 working group, led by Dominic Grieve, proposed defining “anti-Muslim hatred/hostility” instead of “Islamophobia,” to protect free speech and the right to criticise religion. This shift has sparked controversy: critics argue it inadequately addresses Islamophobia as racism, giving a “blank cheque” to attack Islam. Which we should have every right to do, as with ANY religion or doctrine, idea or ideology. Many warn the definition risks unlawfully discriminating against other faiths by prioritising Muslims, potentially stifling criticism of Islamist extremism. The Labour government’s approach, building on the APPG’s 2018 racism-rooted definition, has been accused of overreach, with concerns it could introduce de facto blasphemy laws. As of 2026, the non-statutory definition remains under consultation, highlighting tensions between combating perceived hate and preserving free expression.

The Rushdie Attack: A Stark Reminder

The 2022 stabbing of Salman Rushdie in New York, leaving him blind in one eye and with limited use of one hand, serves as a chilling capstone to this legacy. Attacker Hadi Matar, a U.S.-born man of Lebanese descent, was sympathetic to Shia extremism and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, with images of Khomeini on his social media. While the assault occurred abroad, its roots trace back to the fatwa and the emboldened rhetoric from UK-based extremists. Matar, who praised Rushdie’s “attack on Islam,” faced terrorism charges, underscoring the global reach of this ideology. The incident echoes earlier violence tied to the novel, including the 1991 murder of its Japanese translator and stabbings of others. In the UK, the fatwa’s shadow lingers. A 2023 report by the Henry Jackson Society identified TLP and Khatme Nabuwaat affiliates influencing anti-blasphemy actions, including councillor responses that sometimes supported protesters. This has created a climate where free speech yields to fear, with schools and institutions self-censoring to avoid threats.

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A Call for Vigilance

The Bradford book burning was a protest; the violence that followed is a crisis. While freedom must include the right to burn books in dissent, it cannot extend to death threats or attacks. Britain’s response must prioritise protecting expression without importing or tolerating extremist ideologies that demand submission. Substantiated evidence shows these threats have intensified, from imported Pakistani extremism to homegrown incidents, eroding social cohesion. To preserve a truly free society, authorities must enforce laws equally, reject de facto blasphemy rules, and ensure that no group; regardless of faith, can silence others through fear. The alternative is a Britain where ideas are not debated, but destroyed. The legacy of Bradford reminds us that defending free speech requires vigilance against both censorship and the violence that seeks to impose it.

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