{"id":30895,"date":"2026-02-20T11:23:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T16:23:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=30895"},"modified":"2026-02-20T11:23:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T16:23:24","slug":"uk-street-preacher-fights-back-after-being-arrested-for-inciting-religious-hatred","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/02\/uk-street-preacher-fights-back-after-being-arrested-for-inciting-religious-hatred","title":{"rendered":"UK Street Preacher Fights Back After Being Arrested For \u201cinciting religious hatred\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ADF UK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A UK street preacher is seeking legal counsel after being arrested for \u201cinciting religious hatred\u201d after criticizing Islam. Dia Moodley was attending a street preaching event in 2024 at the Bristol town center where he took questions from onlookers. When a person asked about the differences between Jesus Christ and the prophet Muhammad, the most central figure in Islam, Moodley referenced Muhammad\u2019s documented marriage to a 6-year-old girl. According to the Islamic Hadith<\/a>, Muhammad was engaged to 6-year-old Aisha and the marriage was later consummated when she was 9 years old. Muhammad was over fifty years old at the time. Moodley was arrested on suspicion of committing religiously aggravated harassment and spent 13 hours in jail without ever being charged.<\/p>\n

In another incident, Moodley responded to another question about doctrinal questions between Christianity and Islam. Muslims within the crowd responded violently to his answer, with one onlooker attempting to hit Moodley\u2019s wife, who was present at the event. Moodley was speaking from a ladder and was pushed from the ladder and pinned to the ground while onlookers attempted to rip a Quran from his hand. A man at the event threatened Moodley with a knife. When police arrived, Moodley was threatened with arrest for \u201cbreach of peace\u201d while none of those who assaulted him were questioned or detained. Police also instructed his signs to be destroyed. \u201cIt is shocking that the police said I had breached the peace when I was assaulted. This shows that two-tier policing is a reality in modern Britain,\u201d Moodley told European Conservative<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>Police have continued to refuse to investigate any of the people who assaulted Moodley.<\/p>\n

Moodley\u2019s legal troubles continued. On November 22, 2025, he responded to questions about transgender ideology and comparisons of Christianity with other religions, including Islam. Some onlookers called the police to complain about his responses and Moodley was arrested again for \u201cinciting religious hatred.\u201d He was held in a police cell for 8 hours and was banned from returning to the city center until December 30. Police visited his home again in January as part of a criminal investigation.<\/p>\n

Moodley is being represented by ADF International and is considering legal action for violation of his rights. \u201cI am a law-abiding citizen, and it feels surreal that the police have criminalized me so harshly and repeatedly merely for peacefully expressing my Christian views in the public square,\u201d said Moodley. \u201cUnfortunately, I believe that the police view me, a Christian pastor, as an easy target and are afraid of others being offended by my lawful speech. This is two-tier policing in action.\u201d Legal Counsel for ADF International Jeremiah Igunnubole accused police of imposing \u201cde facto blasphemy laws in the UK.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cThis is far from an isolated incident. It is part of a clear pattern of behavior from Avon and Somerset Police, who for years have targeted Pastor Dia for his peaceful expression in the public square and have failed in their duty to investigate serious crimes committed against him by those who objected to his speech,\u201d he said. \u201cThe police must stop their two-tier approach of criminalizing lawful speech. There has long been a pressing need for Parliament to pass legislation to ensure the right to freedom of expression is robustly protected in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A UK street preacher is seeking legal counsel after being arrested for \u201cinciting religious hatred\u201d after criticizing Islam. Dia Moodley was attending a street preaching event in 2024 at the Bristol town center where he took questions from onlookers. When a person asked about the differences between Jesus Christ and the prophet Muhammad, the most…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":30898,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nUK Street Preacher Fights Back After Being Arrested For \u201cinciting religious hatred\u201d<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UK street preacher seeks legal action after arrests over remarks on Islam, raising concerns about free speech and religious liberty.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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