[Comment 5](/articles/646073-sharia-law-neither-equal-nor-free/comments?page=1#comment_944579) by  [Tony d](/profiles/172720)          :


                 @Comment 4 by Schrodinger's CatI wonder if people are allowed under British law to criticize Sharia.Yesterday a women who was blatently making  [horrible racist comments](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18251807) on a train was sent to prison for 21 weeks.It seems that if people are offended apparently we can be jailed just for what we think and say now.The thing is before coming to this site i would have thought that it was good that a racist got jailed but now i have read comments about people not having the rite not to be offended.I see things differently.I am worried about the future of free speech in Britain.

The is no crime of causing offence. There is a crime of causing harassment alarm or distress in certain circumstances, or behaving in certain ways within earshot of someone likely to be caused harassment alarm or distress. It is well established that this means genuine harassment alarm or distress - not merely feeling offended or uncomfortable.