Christian hotel owners in legal battle after complaint by Muslim guest

The unnamed woman accuses Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang of suggesting that the Islamic Prophet Mohammad was a warlord and the hijab was a form of bondage during a conversation at the couple’s hotel, according to the Daily Mail.

The Vogelenzangs have run The Bounty Hotel for six years and are members of the Bootle Christian Fellowship. They deny the allegations and insist that they were merely defending their faith when challenged about their Christian beliefs.

Police have charged the couple under the Public Order Act 1986, which makes it a crime to use “threatening, abusive or insulting words” that are “religiously aggravated”. It was originally passed to root out abusive behaviour on the streets.

The guest was staying at The Bounty while receiving treatment at a nearby hospital that had regularly referred patients to the hotel until it heard of the court case. The Vogelenzangs say they have suffered an 80 per cent drop in bookings and face ruin, according to the Daily Mail.

They are due in court in December and are being supported financially by the Christian Institute.

Spokesman for the organisation Mike Judge said religious liberty and free speech were “at stake”, according to the newspaper.

“We have detected a worrying tendency for public bodies to misapply the law in a way that seems to sideline Christianity more than other faiths,” he said.

“Nobody was being threatened and while the Vogelenzangs were fully aware that a robust exchange had taken place and the woman had been perhaps a little offended, they were shocked when the police became involved.

“We feel their treatment has been heavy-handed and it is not in the public interest to go ahead with this prosecution. People see the police standing by when Muslims demonstrate holding some pretty bloodthirsty placards, but at the same time come down hard on two Christians having a debate over breakfast at a hotel.

“We are just hoping the magistrates use their common sense and find them not guilty.”