Religious hate crimes in England
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 [that means “Muslim” in Brit-speak] who had gathered in the churchyard to quieten down.
Another group of youths intervened to protect him and they helped him into the rectory as the attackers fled.
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.
Mr Allan Ramanoop, a member of the Parochial Church Council, said often parishioners were too scared to challenge the gangs.
The Asian church member, who lives nearby, said: “I’ve been physically threatened and verbally abused on the steps of the church.
“On one occasion, youths shouted: ‘This should not be a church, this should be a mosque, you should not be here’.
“I just walked away from it – you are too frightened to challenge them. We have church windows smashed two to three times a month.
“The youths are anti-Christian. It’s terrible what they have done to Canon Ainsworth.
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Kamil Ahmed, leader at the Ensign Youth Club, based on a council estate close to the church, said: “There are a lot of 14 to 16-year-old Asians, drunk and high on cocaine, wandering round the estate.
“It might be the people responsible for this attack reacted badly to being told off rather than targeting the church in a faith hate way.”
Local Respect Party councillor Abjol Miah said: “There are isolated faith-hate attacks in the ward and borough, but generally relations are good between different religions. There are always individuals who will cause trouble.”
