Police Tell Christians: "You can’t Preach here, this is a Muslim Area"
A police community support officer (PCSO) told two church workers in Birmingham, “You can’t preach here, this is a Muslim area”. The incident happened as Arthur Cunningham and Joseph Abraham handed out Christian tracts on Alum Rock Road.
PCSO Naguthney told the Christians they were committing a hate crime by attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity and threatened to take them to the police station. Another officer, PC Loi, advised Mr Cunningham and Mr Abraham not to come back to the Alum Rock Road area. PCSO Naguthney said, “You have been warned. If you come back here and get beat up, well you have been warned.” The two Christians subsequently made a formal complaint to West Midlands Police about the conduct of the officers, but no formal apology was given. It is understood that PCSO Naguthney has been given verbal advice for his pocket notebook and will receive training in understanding hate crime and communicating with the public. West Midlands Police issued a public statement saying “there are not any no-go areas in the West Midlands Police area”.Sources: http://www.christian.org.uk/wp-content/downloads/marginchristians.pdf (p.37) http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/ (June, 3rd, 2008)