Alex Armstrong dumbfounded as he hits out at clip of radio caller claiming 'Islam is being BULLIED' in on-air rant

Hamit Coskun was found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence in June 2025 after shouting “f*** Islam” as he held a flaming Islamic text aloft during a protest in Rutland Gardens, Knightsbridge, west London, on February 13 last year.

After Mr Coskun appealed, Mr Justice Bennathan overturned the conviction in October, ruling that the criminal law “is not a mechanism that seeks to avoid people being upset, even grievously upset”.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is appealing against the decision, with the challenge set to be heard by Lord Justice Warby and Ms Justice Obi on Tuesday morning at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

Discussing this on his radio show, LBC's Tom Swarbrick welcomed Muslim caller Adam to share his point of view.

"There’s no way any man on this earth would be able to stand and burn a Quran in my face. There’s just no way that would happen. Like, there would definitely — I would definitely choose violence," Adam boldly claimed.

Mr Swarbrick asked: "Are you accepting that, Adam, you would accept then that you would have broken the law and be convicted for it?"

"Oh, one million percent, yeah, yeah. I’d accept that," Adam emphatically replied, prompting Mr Swarbrick to delve further: "So why — and that’s because the Quran matters so much to you that you would be willing to potentially go to prison for a violent act if someone was burning it in front of you?"

"To be honest with you, I’ve been to prison for less than that, so, yeah, that’s very important. Yeah," Adam answered.

Mr Swarbrick then offered a counter-argument: "I think your response is the problem.

"I think if you say any mocking of your religion is going to result in violent attacks on that person, that has such a chilling effect on free speech in this country — the ability, the right to mock your religion-"

“Islam is being bullied” in the same breath as the caller saying he would be violent and go to prison for violence against someone if they burnt the Quran.

Who is bullying who, exactly? https://t.co/s5sElmC8td

— Alex Armstrong (@Alexarmstrong) February 16, 2026

But Adam cut in: "There is no free speech! What’s this free speech job you keep talking about? There’s no free speech.

"Islam is being bullied. That’s what’s happening. Islam is being bullied. It’s been happening for long. And now people just think they can just do anything and anywhere.

Mr Swarbrick interjected: "If you were to say anything, anywhere... say, in a religious studies lesson, draw an image of the Prophet Muhammad, not in a mocking way, but literally just draw what he may or may not have looked like, should that be allowed?"

The caller inevitably replied that it shouldn't, suggesting that if it was done in a "non-mocking way", the pupil should be educated on why Muslims don't do it.

Mr Swarbrick argued: "You might do that, and they are within their rights - that school might be within their rights to say, 'That’s absolutely understandable — that’s your religious faith, those are your religious traditions and cultures. We don’t abide by that. This is a secular school. This is what we’re doing.'

Adam said: "And I wouldn’t have nothing to do with that school."

The clip of the interview has been shared far and wide on X since it took place on Monday, and Alex was among those critical of Adam's stance.

Alex hit out on the social media site: "'Islam is being bullied' in the same breath as the caller saying he would be violent and go to prison for violence against someone if they burnt the Quran. Who is bullying who, exactly?"

His fellow GB News star Patrick Christys also mocked the incident. "Another tough watch for the ‘diversity is our greatest strength’ brigade," he typed on X.

Elsewhere, contributor Connie Shaw slammed: "A muslim admits on air that he would resort to violence and happily serve his time for doing so if he saw someone burn a Koran.

"Insane that the above caption is not remotely alluded to in the text used to advertise the clip by LBC."

And podcaster Khadija Khan echoed: "'Islam is being bullied.' What a joke! It’s Muslim fanatics like you, Adam, who are bullying us all and threatening to use violence against us if we dare to offend their fragile religious sensibilities.

A muslim admits on air that he would resort to violence and happily serve his time for doing so if he saw someone burn a Koran. https://t.co/PYX9o0NRXG

— Connie Shaw (@_ConnieShaw) February 16, 2026

"We have to wake up to the reality that a victory for these violent Muslim fanatics is what awaits us all if @Coskun78139987 loses his case tomorrow."

Elsewhere, another viewer penned: "This is why free speech is so important. There are people who genuinely believe that because *they* don’t do or say something, nobody else should either. They don’t recognise that other people have rights."

However, some opposed Mr Swarbrick's line of questioning. One X user argued: "I don’t get this strange obsession with trying to agitate people who hold certain beliefs in the name of 'freedom of speech' and then act surprised why they lash out.

"In any normal scenario if you are intentionally disrespectful to someone’s face you are assumed to be hostile," (sic)