In Derbyshire, England on the 11th of November, 2013, a 52 year-old Muslim man named Mohamed Dar entered New Life Church in Alfreton as the community was holding a remembrance service for English World War I soldiers. He was shouting "turn to Islam" while wearing a scarf tied over his face and a kind of turban on which was written in Arab, “Allah is great.”
Graphic designer Jamie Haxby was interviewed for a job at Prested Hall Hotel near Colchester in the United Kingdom. He says his interviewer, Celie Parker, asked him if he was Christian, to which he answered in the affirmative. On looking through his portfolio and seeing that he had done previous work with churches and Christian groups, she commented that she and other members of staff were atheists and that they could never work with a committed Christian. She is also reported to have apologized for wasting Haxby’s time.
The failure of the government to provide bursaries for those wishing to teach Religious Education (RE) has been described as “rank discrimination” by a leading RE body. Childcare minister Elizabeth Truss MP confirmed this month that no bursaries would be offered for religious education teachers in training this year. This cut in the bursaries has made it increasingly difficult for those studying to teach RE.
73-year-old Bill Edwards was ordered by a police constable to stop preaching outside the Magistrates Court House in Banbury as some people in the building found his preaching “offensive”. He refused to move and was arrested and charged with assault and breach of peace. In the police station Mr Edwards was grabbed by six officers and pinned to the ground.
Secularists in Scotland have called on the government to remove religious representatives from education committees. Under the Local Government Act 1973, local authority education committees are required to appoint three representatives from religious organisations and the Edinburgh Secular Society wants to see a change in the law.
Tony Miano, a street preacher addressing lunchtime shoppers at Dundee High Street, Scotland, was arrested and held in custody to appear before the Dundee Sheriff Court. He was talking about “sexual sin” including “adultery, promiscuity and homosexual practice”. A woman called the police, who on arrival snatched away the camera of a friend who was filming the preaching and arrested the street preacher.
A British homosexual couple feels „forced to take Christians into a court to get them to recognise” them. The Marriage Act contains legal provisions to protect churches which chose not to conduct same-sex weddings from being sued.
The police arrested a street preacher in Wimbledon under suspicion of offences under the Public Order Act. He had been speaking about sexual immorality in general and the importance to abstain from such practices.
A young man in Derbyshire, England, was arrested because he is suspected to have set two churches on fire in Allestree and one in Twyford.
Mr Williamson from Portadown in Northern Ireland, faces court proceedings for refusing to print materials of a gay magazine. He says the website of MyGayZine contained explicit images, and he wasn’t prepared to print that kind of material whether homosexual or heterosexual.