James McConnell, 78, cleared of charges under the Communications Act over comments posted on internet denouncing Islam as ‘heathen’ and ‘satanic’

A born-again Christian pastor who denounced Islam as “heathen”, “satanic” and a “doctrine spawned in hell” has been cleared after a three-day trial in a verdict that upheld the right to offend under the principle of freedom of expression.

James McConnell, 78, was prosecuted under the Communications Act after making his remarks when preaching in his church, Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle in Belfast, in May 2014. His comments were posted on the internet, causing a public outcry.



McConnell was accused of the improper use of a public electronic communications network and causing a grossly offensive message to be sent by means of a public electronic communications network. He denied both charges, and later said he was prepared to go to prison if convicted.



But Liam McNally, the judge hearing the case, said it was “not the task of the criminal law to censor offensive utterances”. He added: “The courts need to be very careful not to criticise speech which, however contemptible, is no more than offensive ... Accordingly, I find Pastor McConnell not guilty of both charges.”

The right to freedom of expression “includes the right to say things or express opinions that offend, shock or disturb the state or any section of the population,” he said.

Outside the court, McConnell said he would repeat the message of the sermon, but word it differently. “The only regret I have is the response from the Muslim community – that I was out to hurt them,” he said.

“If there are Muslims out there I want to assure them I love them and, if they need help, I am there to help them, but their theology and their beliefs – I am totally against them.”

The pastor said he did not realise how far his sermon would travel. The court heard it was watched by 700 people online. “As far as I was concerned I was preaching to my own people, I was preaching in my own church – I didn’t realise it would go out there and so forth,” he said.

The judge said McConnell was “a man with strong, passionate and sincerely held beliefs”. He said: “In my view, Pastor McConnell’s mindset was that he was preaching to the converted in the form of his own congregation and like-minded people who were listening to his service rather than preaching to the worldwide internet.”

Although the words on which the charges were based were offensive, they did not cross the legal threshold of being “grossly offensive”, the judge said.

During the three-day hearing last month, McConnell told Belfast magistrates court that he had not intended to provoke, hurt or offend Muslims but was unrepentant for preaching the gospel. He said he had turned down a plea bargain involving an informed warning because he did not want to be “gagged”.

Several hundred evangelical Christian supporters attended each day of the hearing to show solidarity with McConnell, and the court was packed with the pastor’s supporters for the verdict, which was greeted with applause.



An Islamic academic spoke in support of McConnell outside the court on the grounds of freedom of expression. Muhammad al-Hussaini, a senior research fellow in Islamic studies at the Westminster Institute, said: “Against the flaming backdrop of torched Christian churches, bloody executions and massacres of faith minorities in the Middle East and elsewhere, it is ... a matter of utmost concern that, in this country, we discharge our common duty steadfastly to defend the freedom of citizens to discuss, debate and critique religious ideas and beliefs – restricting only speech which incites to physical violence against others.

“Moreover, in a free and democratic society we enter into severe peril when we start to confuse what we perhaps ought or ought not to say, with what in law we are allowed to, or not allowed to say.”



Several high-profile politicians, including Northern Ireland’s former first minister Peter Robinson, the Democratic Unionist party deputy leader, Nigel Dodds, and the former finance minister Sammy Wilson, spoke out in support of the pastor.



Before the verdict, McConnell told the Belfast Telegraph: “If the judge imposes a fine, then I won’t be paying it and I don’t want anybody else to pay it on my behalf either. It’s a matter of principle.

“Paying a fine would be an admission of guilt and I have said from the beginning that I am an innocent man. I know that not paying a fine means that people eventually end up in jail and I am prepared to accept that.”

The National Secular Society said the verdict was a “welcome reassertion of the fundamental right to freedom of expression”.



Campaigns manager Stephen Evans said the society strongly disagreed with the tone and content of McConnell’s comments, but added: “At a time when freedom of speech is being curtailed and put at risk in any number of ways, this is a much needed statement from the judge that free speech will be defended and that Islam is not off-limits.”

The Evangelical Alliance of Northern Ireland also welcomed the verdict, saying it was a “victory for common sense and free speech”.

Director Peter Lynas said: “It is vital that the state does not stray into the censorship of church sermons or unwittingly create a right not to be offended.”