White House backs anti-Islam preacher in two-tier policing row

Telegraph

2 days ago

The Trump administration is backing a controversial Christian preacher at the centre of a 'two-tier' policing row over his right to criticise Islam, The Telegraph can reveal.
Dia Moodley, a father of four, met US officials dispatched to interview British 'victims of censorship' amid growing concern in Washington that free speech in the UK is under threat.
In the past four years, the evangelical pastor, from Bristol, has been the subject of repeated enforcement action by Avon and Somerset Police over his street preaching, which includes comparisons between Christianity and Islam, as well as sermons on abortion and homosexuality.
In his preaching, Mr Moodley says Islam is 'lies' and 'darkness', while Christianity is 'light'. He contrasts the Bible, which he says is 'the truth', with the Koran, which he claims is 'not true'.
In one public sermon in 2024 he stated his belief that there are differences between 'the moral standards of the God of Islam and the Christian God.'
Street preaching is a visible part of religious life in the US, especially in the South and Midwest. But in the UK, it is less socially accepted, and even viewed as a public nuisance.
In 2021, Mr Moodley was banned from 'passing comment' on any faith other than Christianity and from giving sermons without police approval.
It can now be revealed that the pastor, 58, was among the activists who met US State Department diplomats during their fact-finding mission to the UK in March.
Until now, it was only confirmed that the US delegation met five anti-abortion activists charged over prayer vigils outside clinics, including Livia Tossici-Bolt, convicted in April for protesting in Bournemouth. The others were Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, Rose Docherty, Adam Smith-Connor and Father Sean Gough, who all described being detained for silent prayer.
Mr Moodley's inclusion appears to be further evidence of the Trump administration's willingness to interfere in UK domestic affairs, potentially broadening its free speech concerns from buffer zone legislation to broader allegations that Christians are being silenced while other faiths, including Islam, are appeased.
'Free speech in crisis'
In an interview with The Telegraph, Mr Moodley said he was 'pleased' to be invited to meet a five-person US State Department team in London on March 19.
'We've been crying out here in the United Kingdom for quite a few years now, especially over the last year or two. Our position has been that free speech is in crisis,' he said.
'So when the US State Department came and said they wanted to sit across the table from us and hear directly what we were going through, it felt like what our own government needed to do – to sit down with us and ask what is actually happening on the ground, rather than hearing our Prime Minister saying 'free speech has always been here',' he added, referring to Sir Keir Starmer's comments to JD Vance, the vice president, in February.
Asked whether he feared being used as a political pawn, Mr Moodley said his only concern was that the UK free speech crisis had 'caught the attention of somebody else'.
The meeting was facilitated by ADF International UK (ADFI), the British arm of an American Right-wing Christian group, which had been contacted by US State Department officials seeking to speak with 'victims of censorship in the UK'.
Its US partner, Alliance Defending Freedom, lobbied to overturn Roe v Wade in 2022 – a ruling that triggered abortion bans in 13 states.
Since then, the group has shifted focus to Britain, funnelling £1.1 million into its UK arm last year for campaigning and related activity.
Mr Moodley, who is a client of ADFI, told US State Department officials how, in October 2021, police banned him from 'passing comments on any other religion or comparing them to Christianity'.
The order also barred him from 'delivering a sermon or religious address at a time or place that has not had prior consent and approval of Avon & Somerset Constabulary'.
'Being able to compare is part of the Christian methodology to get the message out, and here we have the police saying 'you can't do that, and if you do that, we could possibly arrest you',' Mr Moodley said.
With support from ADFI, in December 2021 he successfully challenged the order. After further litigation, the force admitted in February 2024 the restrictions had been 'disproportionate'.
'Christians treated less favourably'
Unlike other activists who met the delegation, Mr Moodley's main concern is 'two-tier policing'. He claims Christians are treated less favourably than Muslims with the most recent incident taking place in Bristol on March 22, just days after his meeting with the State Department.
While giving a sermon, Mr Moodley compared Islamic and Christian teachings, which provoked an angry response from Muslim passers-by.
'I held up in my one hand my Bible and my copy of the Koran – it's my own personal copy of the Koran, in which all my notes are, my pages are highlighted, and stuff that I've studied in the Koran – and a man literally said to me, as he walked across from the shopping precinct, 'if you do not stop right now, I'm going to stab you',' he claimed.
What happened next was captured on video and shared with The Telegraph.
'Three other men came up, identified as Muslims, and said to me they want my Koran. Their words to me were, 'this is not your book'. Meaning it's a book of their faith, and they tried to grab it from me.'
He said: 'They made every attempt to grab it to such a point, imposing themselves upon me in a very dangerous way, where they pushed me off the ladder, I could have knocked my head on the sign board behind me.'
Mr Moodley continued: 'The police arrived on the scene whilst these men were there, and did nothing about it. It smells of two-tier policing. It smells of the fact that there was a Muslim crowd there, and they did not want to upset this Muslim crowd.'
He was told by Avon and Somerset Police on July 21 they would not pursue charges against the individual who allegedly threatened him.
In a statement, Avon and Somerset Police confirmed that following the incident on March 22, a man in his 20s attended a voluntary interview. No further action was initially taken, but after Mr Moodley submitted a victim's right to review, the case was reconsidered and referred to the CPS.
A force spokesman added: 'The process is ongoing and therefore this remains a live police investigation. This has been recorded as a public order incident and a hate crime.'
Mr Moodley is also considering fresh legal action against the force, supported by the ADFI, over what he claims is institutional hostility toward his Christian faith.