Nissar
Hussain, a British man of Pakistani descent who converted from Islam to
Christianity, was brutally beaten outside his home in Bradford on Tuesday (17
Nov. 2015) and left with multiple fractures and severe bruising.
The two
attackers, their faces concealed, were waiting in a car outside Mr Hussain’s
home, and jumped out just as he left his house to move his car. They knocked
him over with the shaft of a pickaxe and savagely beat him while he was on the
ground. (GUTLESS COWARDS!)
Terrified
that they would kill him, Mr Hussain covered his head with his arms to protect
himself. “Thank God that He was watching my back,” he wrote to Barnabas Fund as
he praised God that he was not hit on the head.
The
attack, however, was brutal and left Mr Hussain with a fractured kneecap on his
left leg and fractured bones in his left hand. On Wednesday, he underwent
surgery to insert pins into the fractured bones.
This vicious act of brutality
comes after many years of harassment, intimidation, insults, physical abuse,
and attacks on his car, his property and his family members at the hands of the Muslim community who have
sought to destroy him and his family. Earlier this year, he faced false
accusations which found him locked in a police cell for 16 hours. His wife,
too, was detained on false allegations.
In all of this, he has been
betrayed time and again by those who are there to protect. Police, church leaders and political authorities have rigidly refused
to concede that it is his status as a convert from Islam that has made him a
target in the eyes of the Muslim community. Apparently none of them wanted to compromise their
relationship with Muslims. (GUTLESS COWARDS!)
For over
20 years, Mr Hussain has complained to police about the persistent persecution
that he, his wife, and their six children have endured ever since coming to faith
in the Lord in 1996. Yet the barrage of attacks has continued unabated. They have made their plight known to church
leaders and political authorities, but to little effect. (GUTLESS COWARDS!)
Then, two
weeks ago, a group of young people huddled across the street from the house
where the family live, hurled a lit firework rocket at the window of his
child’s bedroom and pelted the house with eggs. The incident was caught on CCTV
and was featured on the ITV local TV channel. At last, people began to take
notice. I had already advised him to move house to a safe part of the country,
because his life and his family’s lives could be at risk.
But how long must this
persecution be allowed to continue against Mr Hussain? Must he be killed before people understand the
very grave reality of the threat to his family? And what of other
converts – those who face unremitting harassment, false accusations,
intimidation and discrimination simply because they have chosen to stand firm
in the Lord?
Recently Nissar shared with me
his heart. He said that, whilst he remained fully committed to Christ, he feels
rejected by British Christians, by British police and by British institutions.
He and his wife feel they can no longer go to church because they feel that
British Christianity no longer understands them or wants them. As converts they feel they
have stood alone against all the odds. But they are not the only ones.
There are others like them in the UK. Barnabas Fund exists to stand for
justice, for righteousness and for truth, alongside our brothers and sisters,
whether it be a case of the false accusations and injustices of Pakistan or the
same in Great Britain. As both an Asian
and a convert, Nissar has had a double experience of discrimination, alienation
and prejudice coupled with deep hostility. He has been rejected by the Church
and by the Muslim community. (GUTLESS COWARDS!)
I am
thankful to say that, since reporting this case, there are Christians across
the UK who have responded positively, expressing a deep concern and care
for the wellbeing of Nissar and his family. But others have raised
questions. Underlying it all, from
the perspective of Nissar and his family, is the point that nobody believed
them and that the threats to their lives were neither accepted nor understood.
For this, church leaders and the police must both take
responsibility. (GUTLESS COWARDS!)
We have started a fund for Nissar
Hussain. If anyone would like to contribute to it, please make a donation to
the Nissar Hussain Fund (Project 64-1257).
Telephone
If you prefer to telephone, dial:
0800 587 4006 from within the UK or
+44 1672 565031 from outside the UK.
If you prefer to telephone, dial:
0800 587 4006 from within the UK or
+44 1672 565031 from outside the UK.
Post
If you prefer to send a cheque by post: Click this link for the address of our regional office. Please quote project reference Nissar Hussain Fund (Project 64-1257).
If you prefer to send a cheque by post: Click this link for the address of our regional office. Please quote project reference Nissar Hussain Fund (Project 64-1257).
SMS
For a quick donation of £3.00 by SMS (see terms and conditions here) text Barnabas/1257 to 70007 (Please note: This facility is presently only available to UK supporters).
For a quick donation of £3.00 by SMS (see terms and conditions here) text Barnabas/1257 to 70007 (Please note: This facility is presently only available to UK supporters).