'I have come to kill the God of the Jews.'
The Metropolitan Police were urgently called to The Angel Church in Islington, London, after a Muslim woman stormed the building screaming âAllahu Akbarâ and âI am here to kill the God of the Jews.â
Inside the church, Pastor Regan King and his Jewish wife and young children were preparing for morning worship when the woman entered shouting Islamic calls to prayer in Arabic and directly addressing and reaching out to the children.
After moving them to safety, Pastor King demanded that she leave the building, but instead her aggression continued to escalate.
Calling the police, the woman began shouting antisemitic abuse and according to Pastor King screamed: âI am here to kill the God of the Jewsâ. She then repeatedly shouted through the churchâs sound system âAllahu Akbar.â
Within ten minutes two police cars and a van arrived.
As the woman was arrested for a racially and religiously aggravated public order offence, she tried to appeal to one of the officers who she believed was a Muslim. She referred to him as âbrotherâ, spoke in Arabic and said to him: âremember Allah.â
The officer, however, was very professional and said that he did not speak Arabic and that she should speak in English.
After her appeals failed, she kicked, punched and pushed the officers leaving them no option but to put her in leg and feet restraints and to carry her to the police van.
Pastor Reganâs family and his congregation are shaken by the incident, but are determined to carry on as normal with increased security.
A police faith liaison officer for Islington and Camden has since visited Pastor King and assured him that they are taking the incident seriously.
Local media, however, has refused to describe the attack as Islam related or motivated.
christianconcern.com
The Metropolitan Police were urgently called to The Angel Church in Islington, London, after a Muslim woman stormed the building screaming âAllahu Akbarâ and âI am here to kill the God of the Jews.â
Inside the church, Pastor Regan King and his Jewish wife and young children were preparing for morning worship when the woman entered shouting Islamic calls to prayer in Arabic and directly addressing and reaching out to the children.
After moving them to safety, Pastor King demanded that she leave the building, but instead her aggression continued to escalate.
Calling the police, the woman began shouting antisemitic abuse and according to Pastor King screamed: âI am here to kill the God of the Jewsâ. She then repeatedly shouted through the churchâs sound system âAllahu Akbar.â
Within ten minutes two police cars and a van arrived.
As the woman was arrested for a racially and religiously aggravated public order offence, she tried to appeal to one of the officers who she believed was a Muslim. She referred to him as âbrotherâ, spoke in Arabic and said to him: âremember Allah.â
The officer, however, was very professional and said that he did not speak Arabic and that she should speak in English.
After her appeals failed, she kicked, punched and pushed the officers leaving them no option but to put her in leg and feet restraints and to carry her to the police van.
Pastor Reganâs family and his congregation are shaken by the incident, but are determined to carry on as normal with increased security.
A police faith liaison officer for Islington and Camden has since visited Pastor King and assured him that they are taking the incident seriously.
Local media, however, has refused to describe the attack as Islam related or motivated.
christianconcern.com
Pastor King said: âMy family and I are deeply concerned and shaken by this incident, especially my wife who is Jewish. She is traumatised and now fears going outside.
âSince October 7th especially, as a family and church, we have experienced multiple incidents of antisemitism and anti-Christianity.
âYet we are undeterred and will continue to operate as usual albeit with plans for increasing our security.
âAs a church we welcomed people of all backgrounds without partiality into our doors to hear and be transformed by the message of Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, who brings salvation to all who trust Him.
âThe darkness of our world would threaten to divide, discourage, and destroy, yet it cannot conquer the light of Christâs truth. While this incident created significant concern and distress, we did what never fails â we prayed.
âJesus calls us to love our enemies and to bless those who curse and do good to those who hate.
âThis does not mean, however, that we do not desire both justice and mercy in this matter and we pray for our neighbours wellbeing and salvation.
âWe remain unintimidated from fulfilling our calling to be Christâs light and show His love in our community.
âWe extend our gratitude to the members of Islingtonâs Metropolitan police who attended and dealt with the situation in a timely way.â
âSince October 7th especially, as a family and church, we have experienced multiple incidents of antisemitism and anti-Christianity.
âYet we are undeterred and will continue to operate as usual albeit with plans for increasing our security.
âAs a church we welcomed people of all backgrounds without partiality into our doors to hear and be transformed by the message of Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, who brings salvation to all who trust Him.
âThe darkness of our world would threaten to divide, discourage, and destroy, yet it cannot conquer the light of Christâs truth. While this incident created significant concern and distress, we did what never fails â we prayed.
âJesus calls us to love our enemies and to bless those who curse and do good to those who hate.
âThis does not mean, however, that we do not desire both justice and mercy in this matter and we pray for our neighbours wellbeing and salvation.
âWe remain unintimidated from fulfilling our calling to be Christâs light and show His love in our community.
âWe extend our gratitude to the members of Islingtonâs Metropolitan police who attended and dealt with the situation in a timely way.â
Andrea Williams, @A_Minichiello chief executive of Christian Concern and the Christian Legal Centre, said: âWe are here to support any church leaders, Christians and Jews in communities who are subjected to such attacks and abuse.
âWe are encouraged that the police responded swiftly and decisively during this incident, but believe more must be done to protect synagogues and churches across the UK from emboldened radical Islam.â
âWe are encouraged that the police responded swiftly and decisively during this incident, but believe more must be done to protect synagogues and churches across the UK from emboldened radical Islam.â
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