A female police officer who apparently defended the rights of a Christian street preacher against complaints from a crowd of Muslim men in London has been praised for her actions.
A clip of the exchange in the predominantly Muslim area of Whitechapel, in London, has gone viral on social media, with a single post on X being viewed over half a million times.
One bystander in the tense exchange can be heard accusing the preacher of insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
As the group press the officer to take action, the Metropolitan Police Officer can be heard saying: "I understand that you don't want to hear it but I would recommend that you just move away and don't listen to him."
Another bystander challenges her response by saying, "We live here," to which the officer replies: "But he's not in your home."
The bystander then says, "But this is our community."
Later in the exchange she tells him, "But you can preach about your religion the same way he can preach about his."
When the bystander accuses the preacher of inciting hatred, the officer tells him: "He's not."
The preacher is not named or identified but is described as a Christian preacher in several posts.
Writing in The Telegraph, Toby Young of the Free Speech Union, said she "deserves a medal".
"What she demonstrated, under considerable pressure, was a good grasp of the law: that a person preaching peacefully in a public place is exercising a right protected by Article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998, and that the feelings of offended bystanders, however loudly expressed, are irrelevant. Unfortunately, she is the exception rather than the rule," he wrote.
Some Christian street preachers have experienced arrest for commenting on Islam.
Pastor Dia Moodley was arrested by Avon and Somerset Police last November on suspicion of inciting religious hatred under the Public Order Act 1986 after sharing his Christian views on Islam and transgender ideology while preaching in Bristol city centre. He is considering legal action.
John Steele was arrested in Rotherham town centre last June after he asked a Muslim woman what the Quran said about domestic violence and told her that the Apostle Paul commands Christian husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the Church. The Crown Prosecution Service later decided not to pursue a case against him.
Shaun O'Sullivan was arrested for hate speech in Swindon town centre in 2020 after he criticised Muhammad and Buddha. He was later found not guilty at Swindon Magistrates' Court.
In 2019, Pastor Oluwole Ilesanmi won a £2,500 payout for wrongful arrest. He was arrested outside Southgate tube station earlier in the year after a member of the public accused him of making 'Islamophobic' comments. He was later de-arrested but, during his arrest, officers had confiscated his Bible and driven him miles away in their police car before letting him out with no money to pay for public transport to get home, forcing him to ask a passerby for help with the cost of a bus ticket.
