An Asian family who converted to Christianity claim that for the second time they have been driven from their home by by Muslim persecutors.
Nissar
Hussain, his wife Kubra and their six children said they have suffered
an appalling ordeal at the hands of neighbours who regard them as
blasphemers.
They
claim they are effectively prisoners in their own home after being
attacked in the street, having their car windscreens repeatedly smashed
and eggs thrown at their windows.
Mr Hussain, 49, has even given up his career as a nurse due to the effect on his health.
Police
have been called numerous times to deal with the trouble but are said
to be reluctant to treat the problem as a religious hate crime.
Only one
successful prosecution has been made, and Mr Hussain said he feels so
let down by police he has lodged a complaint with the Independent Police
Complaints Commission.
He also criticised the Anglican Church for failing to provide any meaningful support.
Now the family are likely to move from their home city of Bradford to a 'white English' area to escape the hate campaign.
'Our lives have been sabotaged and this shouldn't happen in the United Kingdom,' said Mr Hussain.
'We live in a free democratic society and what they are doing to us is abhorrent.'
A year later they moved to a different part of Bradford to start again.
Neighbors
welcomed them into the community and all was well until Mr Hussain took
part in a Channel 4 Dispatches TV documentary about the mistreatment of
Muslim converts, which was screened in 2008.
They were
recognized by a large Muslim family of seven brothers and four sisters
living on the same street and were immediately ostracized.
The
younger children from both families attended the local Church of
England primary school, where a majority of pupils were Muslims of
Pakistani heritage, but car sharing trips were soon stopped by the other
family.
Mr
Hussain said 'word was spread around the playground' about them being
Christian converts and their youngest daughter was bullied.
Youngest
daughter Leena, now 14, was told by her friends 'our parents say we
mustn't mix with you because you are a convert.' Mr Hussain said: 'She
was heartbroken and made to feel like a second class citizen.'
Mr
Hussain said his wife, 45, and children Issar, 23, Anniesa, 21, Sarah,
19, Miriam, 17, Leena and Isaaq, seven, have faced harassment and abuse
on almost a daily basis.
The
family were denounced as 'apostates' – a term used for those who
renounce a religion for another – which in some hardline Islamic
countries is punishable with death.
Flashpoints
include an incident in March this year when Mr Hussain ended up
grappling with a man who 'threatened and confronted' his wife.
Police were called and Mr Hussain was arrested and spent 12 hours in police cells before being released without charge.
Over the
last year, Mr Hussain has had his car windscreen smashed six times at a
cost of £5,000. His eldest son, a final year medical student, has also
had his windscreen smashed.
A
neighbour was convicted at Bradford Crown Court of a public order
offence and bound over to keep the peace after one of Mr Hussain's
children recorded him on a mobile phone making threats in a furious rage
in the street.
Mr
Hussain insisted he has never been violent towards his tormentors but
he was given a police caution for an incident last year when he lost his
temper and made an abusive comment in response to a threat from the
man.
Mr
Hussain had worked as a hospital nurse but was diagnosed with
depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and has been unable to
work. He owns several properties and now lives off rental income.
Although
their faith remains strong, Mr and Mrs Hussain no longer attend church.
'We have given up on the Church of England, they have done nothing for
us,' said Mr Hussain.
A meeting, arranged by a friend, with a local imam – who 'listened and promised to help' – also led to nothing, said Mr Hussain.
A
West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: 'We are aware of an ongoing
matter involving Mr Hussain and are working closely with partners to
resolve this situation. All reports of crime are taken seriously and are
investigated thoroughly.'
Source: U.K. Daily Mail...
No comments:
Post a Comment