In October 2018, the Irish people voted to abolish the country’s archaic blasphemy laws by a margin of two-to-one. This result was a huge step forward for protecting freedom of speech and ensuring the strict separation of church and state in Ireland. Alas, barely a year later, the Fine Gael-led Irish Government would seek to undo this progress with new legislation designed to restrict “hate speech”, titled the ‘Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hate Offences) Bill 2022’.
The proposed legislation aimed to broaden the range of protected characteristics, impose stricter penalties, and expand law enforcement powers, including access to private digital data. Critics raised concerns about its vague definitions and potential to infringe on rights of speech. These issues were highlighted by a coalition of free speech advocates and civil society groups – including the Alliance of Former Muslims – who argued that the bill threatened fundamental freedoms.
Despite passing Dáil Éireann by a wide margin, the legislation failed to secure a consensus. Thus, in September 2024, Justice Minister Helen McEntee was forced to remove the speech provisions from the Criminal Justice Bill 2022, while retaining the sections addressing hate crimes. This decision reflects growing resistance to policies designed to control speech, with proponents of free speech emphasizing the importance of protecting offensive speech in a democratic society.
On this page, we feature the full text of the letter sent by the Alliance to all 60 members of Seanad Éireann in May 2023, urging Senators to stand with Ex-Muslims against the imposition of “hate speech” laws. We draw upon the disastrous effects of similar laws enacted in the United Kingdom as well as our own experiences with Islamic blasphemy codes to argue that, far from protecting vulnerable minorities, restricting freedom of speech only compounds our suffering.
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Letter to All Members of Seanad Éireann, Opposing the ‘Hate Offences Bill’
Sent on May 25th 2023
Dear Senator,
We are writing to express the concerns of Ireland’s Ex-Muslim community over the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022, which was recently passed in Dáil Éireann. It is our contention that such legislation, while presumably designed to protect our most vulnerable citizens, will actually have the opposite effect.
In Pakistan, those who criticise Islam are hunted down and killed by fanatical lynch mobs. These mobs are encouraged by the fact that under Pakistani law, blasphemy is punishable by death. In the United Kingdom, outspoken apostates such as Nissar Hussain are savagely attacked and driven out of their homes. Once again, these fanatics are encouraged by the restrictions on offensive speech that exist in the UK. By making it easier for jihadists to claim “hate speech” against those who leave or criticise Islam, the Hate Offences Bill risks enabling a repeat of this in Ireland.
Criminalising speech does not create a more tolerant society; on the contrary, it emboldens the most intolerant. In the UK, which again has broad restrictions on speech, the Home Office estimates that hate crimes have actually doubled since 2013. In Germany, where Holocaust denial is a criminal offence, Dresden City Council recently declared a “Nazi emergency”. Indeed, Human Rights Watch has described the rise of antisemitism in Europe as “alarming”. The way to defeat such hateful ideas is not to restrict speech, but to counter them with better speech.
With all this in mind, we hope that when the Hate Offences Bill is put to the floor for amendments in Seanad Éireann, you will stand with the Ex-Muslim community and vote to remove any sections pertaining to speech. Freedom of speech is an absolute necessity for members of vulnerable minorities to be ourselves and to empower one another. We implore you to avoid indirectly empowering those who want us dead for our apostasy.
Yours faithfully,
Kareem Muhssin
Spokesperson
Alliance of Former Muslims 