Chinese man jailed for Koran burning as Islamophobia spreads online
- Offender charged with inciting national hatred
- Video of the act widely shared on social media, attracting support from majority of internet commentators
A man in Xian was sentenced to 10 days’ detention for uploading a video online of himself burning a copy of the Koran, according to a report from local police that was shared on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media.
The unnamed man, whose personal details were blurred out in the photo, was charged with “inciting national hatred or national discrimination” under article 47 of China’s public security administrative laws, according to the police report, which carried a photo of the stamped document from the Wild Goose Pagoda police station in Xian.
The offence carries a maximum penalty of 15 days detention and a fine of 1,000 yuan (US$144).
The report did not mention which social media platforms the video was uploaded to. The widely shared post included a photo of a Chinese-language Koran lying on the floor, with some of its pages torn out and blackened with soot.
Most users on Weibo expressed support for the man’s actions and questioned why he was punished with detention.
“Burning religious books [being a crime] – this is like Islamic laws against blasphemy … making religious norms more important than secular norms. Is China a religious country?!” said one comment that was ‘liked’ more than 1,700 times.