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Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
Christian preacher is arrested and threatened with 'non-crime hate incident' after asking Muslim woman about passages in the Koran
A Christian preacher of 25 years was arrested after reportedly asking a woman in a headscarf what she thought about Quran verses on domestic violence. John Steele, 60, had been out in Rotherham town centre on June 21 when he engaged in a '30-second conversation' with the passerby at a public awareness stall. But following the encounter he was detained by police and threatened with a 'non-crime hate incident' (NCHI). The South Yorkshire town has already been mired in accusations of 'two-tier policing' amid police reluctance to act on the systematic rape of young girls by predominantly Pakistani men due to community cohesion concerns. In body worn camera footage of the incident Mr Steele chuckles to himself and tells police 'the world's gone mad' adding 'I asked a simple question'. But an officer explains: 'This is the world we live in. I think it was your delivery.... You could deem [this] behaviour and [your] actions as anti-social behaviour.' Another police officer says the victim felt 'frightened', adding: 'That lady has flagged a police officer down and said she has felt threatened by your manner. So for me that's anti-social.' Mr Steele, who has been preaching the gospel for 25 years without incident, had been holding a sign that read 'God now commandeth all men every where to repent - Acts 17.30'. The former miner and long-serving bus driver claimed the conversation with the member of the public had been brief and polite. Despite this, officers can be heard demanding Mr Steele's personal details which he refuses to provide. A policeman says: 'John, we're saying you've behaved in an anti-social manner because she's felt harassed, alarmed and distressed by your behaviour - by how you've approached her and the question that you've asked her and the manner that you've asked it.' The officer adds: 'I've never had any issues with you before.' Following his continued refusal to provide his details, Mr Steele is then led away to a police car. His representatives have claimed he was taken to Rotherham police station, where he was detained, fingerprinted, and DNA-swabbed. A court date was set but the Crown Prosecution has since discontinued the case, stating the prosecution was 'not needed in the public interest'. Mr Steele, a former heavy drinker and militant during the 1984 miners' strike, said he became a born-again Christian in 1987 after reading Psalm 7. Speaking on his experience, Mr Steele said: 'I've spent my life trying to help people find hope and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. I've seen the devastation caused by abuse, and I wanted to speak truth in love. Instead, I was treated like a criminal. 'I was shocked and gobsmacked. How can asking a question be labelled as hate? 'It was degrading. They took my DNA and fingerprints, for what? A 30-second conversation. 'This wasn't about me. It's about the erosion of our hard-won freedoms and the right to speak truth in love. 'I've never been arrested in 25 years. I wasn't there to cause trouble, I was there out of love, to share hope and to help people understand the love of Christ.' Mr Steele had reportedly been questioning the passerby on a Quran verse that reads: 'if you sense ill-conduct from your women, advise them ˹first˺, ˹if they persist,˺ do not share their beds, ˹but if they still persist,˺ then discipline them ˹gently˺'. The verse has caused controversy with critics saying it justifies domestic violence while proponents argue it has been taken out of context. Andrea Williams, Chief Executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: 'We welcome the fact that this case has now been dropped, but it should never have progressed as far as it did. 'This is a clear and disturbing example of two-tier policing. It is both irrational and unlawful for officers to threaten members of the public with so-called 'non-crime hate incidents' simply for expressing lawful and peaceful views. Ms Williams added South Yorkshire had been 'one again undermining public trust' following the incident and her group would be investigating whether a 'hate incident' had been wrongly recorded against Mr Steele's name 'despite his complete vindication'. Over 250,000 NCHIs have been recorded in England and Wales since 2014 - an average of 68 per day. Critics argue that NCHIs are being weaponised to silence dissent, especially on controversial topics. NCHIs are defined by the UK College of Policing as: 'Any non-crime incident which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person's race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or transgender status.' No evidence is required, and no crime needs to have occurred. If someone feels offended or distressed, police are instructed to record the incident, often placing it on the individual's police record despite no crime having been committed.
National Post
06-07-2025
- Politics
- National Post
The life of a conservative male on a Canadian campus: 'We are not the demons that you see us as'
Article content Chui's take is slightly different; 'I seldom encounter someone who has been corrupted by the 'manosphere',' he says with a grin, 'and when I do encounter them, it's more a fad than anything. After a few months, after a season, it's over; they're back to normal.' Article content As for the radical right coming for our sons, Chui acknowledges the growth in young men's affiliation with the conservative movement but sees this as pragmatic, rather than ideological. Young people who can't make ends meet, he says, 'are choosing to put their faith in a party that historically runs on economic integrity, runs on fiscal responsibility.' Article content It's all part of a cycle, he suggests; there was a spike in young men's support for conservatives in the Mulroney era, and again with the rise of the Reform Party. 'It is a cycle that keeps on happening over and over, and I don't believe social issues have any play within it. Amongst my friends, social issues are not at the forefront of our minds.' Article content At 6-foot-3, Chui towers over me, cutting an imposing figure in his wide leg jeans and suede jacket. His experience as a Christian street preacher may have shaped him into the most patient 20-year-old I've ever encountered. Article content 'Don't fret too much,' is Chui's primary message (as a mother worried about boys, I'm somewhat comforted); however, his experience door-knocking — most recently, in the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills constituency on behalf of United Conservative Party MLA Tara Sawyer — sends me reeling. Article content 'At the doors,' Chui shares, 'when I do encounter a conservative and the question comes up, 'would you like a lawn sign?', it is often, more times than not, a 'no.' And almost every single time, it is due to the fact they don't want their neighbours to know they are conservative because of the weight that carries.' Article content 'You're talking about rural Alberta?' I ask, incredulously. Article content 'You would expect to have almost every single house welcoming a lawn sign with open arms,' Chui answers, 'but that's far from the truth. Article content Article content 'A lot of the people you encounter at these doors are centrists, and they cast ballots with their pocketbooks,' he explains. 'They want fiscal responsibility and that takes precedence over social issues… things like trans rights, things like homosexual rights, social safety nets.' Article content They feel disenfranchised and are looking for change, he concludes, 'but when you take up that lawn sign, what does that say to your neighbour? That you're a 'racist'.' Article content Somewhat dumbstruck, I wade into the murky waters of DEI quotas and cancel culture. 'Would you like to see wokeness dialled back at your school?' I ask. Article content 'It's almost like the 'he who shall not be named', Voldemort question, among my circles at least,' Chui quips. 'It's not even spoken about. We almost pretend they (DEI quotas) don't exist and just carry on.' Article content With its rainbow flags, rainbow crosswalk and posters everywhere, 'DEI is very, very fundamentally rooted into the Mount Royal (University) culture,' Mitch answers. While it may be a great idea, at his school, he says it's unrealistic to think about shutting down the whole DEI ideology. 'What we need to do, to lean into that direction,' he offers, 'is foster a sense it's OK to have different opinions.'
Reuters
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Fact Check: Context missed from comparison touted as evidence of UK's two-tier religious freedom
A side-by-side comparison of two videos - one showing police taking a street preacher's microphone and another of a man reciting the Islamic call to prayer from a London landmark – misses context in online posts that claim it is evidence of a two-tier system of religious freedom in Britain. 'British police take away Christian preacher's microphone because his prayers were causing anxiety to some,' said a June 9 post, opens new tab on Facebook sharing screenshots of the two videos. 'Muslims can do what they want, they don't seem to cause anxiety,' the post added, referring to the call to prayer. 'UK is lost.' A similar post on X, opens new tab received 1 million views. However, a spokesperson for Sussex Police said in an email the preacher had his microphone briefly removed so a police officer could talk to him. The microphone was later returned to him, the spokesperson added, as evidenced by a fuller version, opens new tab of the video, at timecode 02:59., opens new tab In a statement, Sussex Police said officers were called to London Road, Brighton, on March 10, amid reports of hate speech being broadcast. Officers spoke to a man performing a speech, but no offences were identified. Police left the scene without taking any action and the man was not arrested. The European Convention on Human Rights, opens new tab guarantees freedoms of religion (article 9) and expression (article 10) in the UK, meaning street preaching is lawful. However, if the speech is threatening or abusive or causes hatred, it may constitute an offence under the Public Order Act 1986, opens new tab. Nevertheless, the law does not make a distinction between religions, James Holt, an associate professor of religious education at the University of Chester, said in an interview with Reuters. The second video - the subject of a separate Reuters fact-check article in 2021 - shows British-Bangladeshi entrepreneur Kazi Rahman reciting the call to prayer from Tower Bridge. A spokesperson for Tower Bridge said in an email that organisers of the recital - which happened on May 7, 2021, to mark the last Friday of Ramadan - had sought permission from the City of London Corporation in April 2021. The City of London Corporation declined to comment. The preacher in Brighton did not respond to a request for comment. Missing context. Police temporarily removed the Brighton preacher's microphone, and a longer version of the video shows it was returned. Permission for the Tower Bridge Islamic call to prayer was sought and granted at least a week before the recital. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.
