On 2nd April 2023, British-Pakistani Political Commentator Bushra Shaikh justified killing over blasphemy in one of her tweets replies to author Douglas Murray. Bushra Shaikh, the anchor of the breakfast television show Good Morning Britain, wrote that violence is ok if someone commits so-called blasphemy.
Quoting Douglas Murray’s tweet responding to a ‘blasphemous cartoon’ depicting prophet Muhammad saying it is only a cartoon and asking the Twitter user to calm down, Bushra Shaikh wrote, “Keyboard badman right here. He’d never say this with his chest in Bradford. NEVER.”
Bushra Murray also added a smiley in her tweet essentially pointing out how it is difficult for someone to commit blasphemy in Bradford – an area in the UK with a significant Muslim population living there.
As the original tweet of the Prophet Muhammad’s cartoon, quoted by Douglas Murray was deleted, Bushra Shaikh wrote in the next tweet, “Douglas Murray referencing cartoon depictions of Prophet Muhammad PBUH. For context. A man of his so-called intelligence lacks in sensitivity clearly.”
Replying to Bushra Shaikh’s tweet, one John Thomas wrote, “So violence is ok?” Bushra Shaikh replied, “Sometimes yes. If that’s the ‘language’ being spoken…”
Another Twitter user John A called out Bushra Shaikh and wrote, “The problem with violence is reciprocity.” Bushra Shaikh wrote in her reply, “Correction. The problem with violence is there’s always a badder man out there, so be prepared to take a beating if you’re willing to give out to begin with.”
It is notable that according to the 2021 census, the Muslim population in Bradford went up to 30.5% from 24.7% in 2011. In 2011, 7.7% of people in Bradford were born in Pakistan. In 2021, this percentage went up to 8.3%. Therefore, Bushra Shaikh wrote that nobody would be able to defend depictions of Prophet Muhammad without getting killed.
The row originally started on 1st April 2023 when Douglas Murray quoted a tweet by Omar Salha and asked him if a mosque in the UK would host a Holy Communion just like a church in the UK hosted an iftar event during the ongoing Muslim month of Ramzan.
Omar Salha posted, “History was made last night! Over 1,000 people from all faith backgrounds & none attended the iftar at the Manchester Cathedral. A beautiful showcase of bridging, belonging & celebrating our community of communities. Appreciation for hosting us in MCD.”
Douglas Murray wrote, “Shouldn’t a bridge be a two-way thing? So when is the next Holy Communion at a major mosque in the UK?”
Douglas Murray later posted another tweet with a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. He was countered by one Zeeshan Saleem whose tweet is now deleted. Depicting Prophet Muhammad is considered blasphemy in Islam and is punishable by death. Douglas Murray replied to Zeeshan Saleem, “It is just a cartoon. Calm down.”
Bushra Shaikh is a Pakistan-origin British anti-racism activist and political commentator. She is also known for anti-Hindu Islamist views. She has now supported killing for blasphemy according to Islamic Sharia.