UK: Vicar attacked for 'being a Christian'

16th March 2008, Daily Mail:

A vicar was in hospital last night after being attacked in his churchyard by two youths in what is being treated as a 'faith hate' crime.

Canon Michael Ainsworth, 57, was kicked and punched in the head as one of the attackers screamed "f***ing priest".

He was left lying on the ground with deep cuts, bruising and two black eyes.

The attack took place in the early evening after Canon Ainsworth politely asked three Asian youths who had gathered in the churchyard to quieten down ...

The incident happened outside St George-in-the-East Church in Wapping, East London.

It has regularly had windows smashed by youths - who on one occasion shouted: "This should not be a church, this should be a mosque."

Canon Ainsworth, a father of four, was taken to hospital and discharged after treatment, but was readmitted after a relapse.

The church is situated in the heart of Tower Hamlets where the majority of the population - some 57 per cent - belong to black and ethnic minority groups.

A third are of a Bangladeshi background.

In another attack on the church, families were showered with glass when a brick was thrown through a window during a service ...

The Reverend Alan Green, Area Dean for Tower Hamlets, said it was the latest in a series of "faith hate" crimes in the borough ...

"He was kicked and punched in the head as he lay on the ground, I believe that what was shouted was 'you f***ing priest' before they attacked him.

"He's still in hospital because he lost a lot of blood following the attack ...

Tower Hamlets has a population of 227,000 and a high proportion of 20 to 34-year-olds ...

An island in the middle of a Muslim community:

Thomas Beckett, 50, said: “I have heard that this church is an island in the middle of a Muslim community ...” ...

Nick Tolson, a former police officer who set up the National Churchwatch safety scheme, said that there had been an increase in faith hate attacks on clergy.

“The harassment is usually coming from young Asian men – often, but not exclusively, Muslim,” he said. “The police and prosecutors will classify an attack on a mosque or Muslim as a hate crime but not if it is a church or a vicar. These aren’t targeted attacks, they are spontaneous, but [the victims] are being singled out because of their faith and should be dealt with in the same way as other members of the community.”

50% attacked in past 12 months:

A survey of London clergy by National Churchwatch, which provides personal safety advice, found that nearly half said they had been attacked in the previous 12 months. The organisation suggested that vicars should consider taking off their dog collars when they are on their own.

So Afghan heroes can't wear their uniforms in the UK, and now priests can't wear their dog collars. Sure smells like dhimmitude.

Will they soon be on the church roof, Kosovo style?


Lawrence Auster's comments:
- The shocking, part-of-a-pattern, random, deliberate, drunken, religiously motivated, tension-caused, not-to-be-publicized-because-it-may-cause-tensions beating of Anglican clergyman
- Contemptible Britain