Strips of bacon placed inside a Koran at the Mater Dei Hospital multi-faith room sparked anew discussions on the removal of the vilification of religion law, with Shadow Minister for Justice Jason Azzopardi explaining  why amendments to the law make it harder to prosecute people for inciting religious hatred.

Dr Azzopardi, in an interview with The Malta Independent, explained at length why the Nationalist Party voted against removing the vilification of religion law – citing reasons such as public order, in the name of legal consistency, logic and timing.

“I am pretty sure that if you had to do a survey, 95 per cent of people would think that vilification would mean criticism or satire. Vilification is none of the sort, to vilify is to go beyond simple criticism or mockery,” he said.

“In the sea of instability surrounding us, where even the slightest act is perceived by these terrorists, by these people of ruthless methods to amount to a provocation, what does society lose by preventing, or at least diminishing the provocation? “

Read the full interview on tomorrow’s edition of The Malta Independent on Sunday.