Why Should This Family Be Treated In Such A Way?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3258159/Asian-family-converted-Christianity-driven-home-Muslim-persecutors.html

/// Police have been called numerous times to deal with the trouble but are said to be reluctant to treat the problem as a religious hate crime. ///

I wonder if this were Christians attacking a Muslim family, they would also be reluctant to treat it as a religious hate crime?

[Zacs-Master]

Well, to start with the headline is wrong ( no big surprise there!). They are not a Muslim family.

[anotheoldgit]

/// Muslim family are driven from their home... after they converted to Christianity: ///

What should it have said then, "Ex Muslim family are driven from their home... after they converted to Christianity"?

or

Family who were once Muslims are driven from their home... after they converted to Christianity"?

Come on Zacs, put it right.

[mikey4444]

No, of course not AOG....in exactly the same way that Muslims shouldn't be maltreated by other non-Muslims.

Tolerance all round is what is needed.

[Zacs-Master]

Happy with either AOG.

[naomi24]

//I wonder if this were Christians attacking a Muslim family, they would also be reluctant to treat it as a religious hate crime? //

Doubt it.

[New Judge]

So picture the scene (very briefly):

A Christian family who live in an area with a high concentration of Christian followers (say, somewhere in Surrey) convert to Islam. They start wearing Islamic garb and go to the Mosque regularly. The Christian majority round and about treat them as “blasphemers” and incidents take place such as their car being vandalised, their children bullied at school and harassment occurs which forces them to move to another part of Surrey. Here it soon becomes known that they are converts to Islam and the harassment begins again. Their children are ostracised, the criminal damage begins again. They are called “apostates” (and “offence” punishable by death in some hard line Muslim countries).

Various reports are made to the police but only one successful prosecution is achieved. The offence is not charged as racially or religiously aggravated. The father has to leave his job and so frustrated is he that he makes a complaint to the Police Complaints Commission. In the end the family has to move to Bradford to be surrounded by like-minded Muslims.

Do you really believe that at some point (probably very early on) the police would not have seen and recorded this course of conduct as religiously aggravated hate crime? Well that’s what happened here. The police are “reluctant” to do so. I just wonder why that is?

[Zacs-Master]

To treat it as a religious crime would probably cause further tension and reprisals in the area. The story's origins are 8 years old. Either the family are stubborn or can't afford to move out of the area.

[Orderlimit]

Well that's odd the definition of a religious hate crime is '"Any incident which is believed to be motivated because of a person's religion or perceived religion, by the victim or any other person".'

As with racist crimes or incident it usually only gets defined as such for certain groups

[jourdain2]

I knew, personally and quite well, an elderly couple living on the edge of the Manningham district of Bradford whose lives were made a misery as their street was taken over by Muslims spreading out. They did not want to leave, they had lived there for over 40 years, but in the end they were forced out and had to go to live with their son because their lovely little home was sold (to a Muslim) for a pittance. I also knew a lovely black lady who was, again, forced out and many black people left because of the same sort of thing - our school sports teams were decimated. It's been going on for years.

Houses in Muslim areas do not generally fetch good prices, so this family probably had not been able to move out to a better area for them.

[New Judge]

"To treat it as a religious crime would probably cause further tension and reprisals in the area."

So? Since when has the threat of tension or reprisals dictated how the law is enforced? Imagine this:

The Police: "We're going to nick one of your lot for racially aggravated criminal damage"

The "Community": "If you do, we're going to cut up rough and may undertake reprisals".

The Police: "OK then, we won't bother!"

"The story's origins are 8 years old. Either the family are stubborn or can't afford to move out of the area."

It's because it's been going on so long that it has hit the news again, Zacs. I fail to see how the family are being stubborn because they refuse to kowtow to this religious claptrap. As for their moving, I haven't read the article again but I believe they have already moved twice - once elsewhere within the same area and again out of the area.

This incident (and many like it) occur because of the infestation of religion in people's lives. None of my neighbours knows my religion and I know none of theirs. It's not my business or theirs which religion any of us follow. Unfortunately there are some religions with followers so fanatical that their religion completely overrides their common sense and their duty of courtesy and civility towards others. We're so often told thatthe UK is a tolerant society. Well it seems that some sections of that society most certainly are not.

[Zacs-Master]

So? What explanation do you have my Legal eagle friend? I think the conversational scenario you propose is not so far from the truth.

[Orderlimit]

^ i'd say enforce the law.

[New Judge]

No, I imagine my fictitious conversation is not so far from the truth, Zacs (although the contribution from the “community” may not be real but imagined by senior police officers).

And that’s the scandal.

[Zacs-Master]

NJ, I take it you now realise your 'Since when has the threat of tension or reprisals dictated how the law is enforced?' was a bit naive. ;-)

[New Judge]

I think you misunderstood, Zacs (which was probably my fault for not explaining myself).

I appreciate that enforcement of the law is not a level playing field. I know that such things as threats of disorder influence that process. And I find that scandalous. Perhaps what I should have said was "Why is it that the threat of tension or reprisals (from some sections of the community but not others) dictates how the law is enforced?" Or "Why are some of our senior police officers so reluctant to enforce the law for fear of upsetting some sections of the community whilst having no such qualms about upsetting some others?"

[agchristie]

It will be interesting to read the findings of the IPCC.

I wonder what the history is from the Local Authority's ASB Team is and any civil action, assuming of course reports were made and perpetrator's details passed on.