Barry Duke, the Angry Atheist

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1. 

   As someone who produced dozens of nativity plays as a teacher and a Sunday School leader, that title ‘A Gay…

2. 

   The defence of a Christian view never seems to be settled by debate: exchange of facts, reference to historical events.…

3. 

   But …… Rwanda is a safe place: Parliament says so.https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2024/8/contentsSafety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 S 2 Safety…

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   Religion can survive only on the most unquestionable assumptions. The statements made on Sundays on the BBC as if they…

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   Yes, if I’ve got anything remotely like a phobia, as an ex-fundy, its bibles, churches, tracts etc. I like to…

THE moment I learned in 2020 that Abdul Shokoor Ezedi, inset above, had converted from Islam to Christianity and was granted asylum by Judge William O’Hanlon in Newcastle because the judge felt the conversion was “genuine”, my immediate reaction was that he’d been thoroughly hoodwinked, like many before him.

My scepticism was based on many reports I published over the years about criminals suddenly embracing Jesus after falling foul of the law, and how easily duped Christians can be by liars like Ezedi, who was handed a suspended sentence at Newcastle Crown Court on January 9 2018 after pleading guilty to charges of sexual assault and exposure.

In Ezedi’s case, those who gleefully carried out his conversion, proven fake by the fact that he got a full Muslim burial under an alias —”Abdul Wahed”—were members of Grange Road Baptist Church in Jarrow.

Hop across to Tripadvisor and you’ll see this review of the church::

This is a great place if you are a Muslim sex offender illegal migrant who wants to pretend they have converted to Christianity and get the church to back your asylum application

The request for an Islamic burial is believed to have come from friends and family. A Muslim charity, the Muslim Burial Fund, coughed up £6,000 for the funeral.

Ezedi, 35, arrived in the UK in 2016 from Afghanistan, and was granted asylum after two applications and an appeal.

A key factor in the success of his appeal was his June 2018 baptism at Grange Road Baptist Church in Jarrow, South Tyneside, which he had been attending since 2016, according to the court documents.

A Daily Mail report about Ezedi, published last month. Image via X

The documents were released after several newspapers and broadcasters, including BBC News, applied for his paperwork from the First Tier Tribunal, which handles immigration and asylum applications.

It also emerged through rarely-made-public immigration tribunal court papers that he was granted asylum despite the Home Office warning that he had failed a Christianity test and was “using religion for his own ends”.

Ezedi claimed that the Old Testament was about Jesus Christ and that one of the apostles was called Jacob in a series of blunders during a Home Office interview to test the validity of his conversion.

Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the “disturbing revelations” raised serious and urgent questions for the Home Office.

She called on Home Secretary James Cleverly to explain why Ezedi was not removed from the UK in the two years after his first asylum claim was rejected, given his sexual offence conviction.

We need to know how many other similar cases there might be, whether the Home Office is failing to recognise the urgency of dealing with sex offence cases, and what went so badly wrong in this appalling case.

A letter from Reverend Roy Merrin, former ministry team leader at Grange Road Baptist Church, said Ezedi:

Had established a good relationship with the other church members and is always willing to help as required.

The letter, dated 28 August 2018, confirmed Ezedi’s baptism and stated:

Abdul has been ready to share his faith in Christ with non-Christians. I hope that this information will be of assistance, and I would support his application to remain in this country.

Ezedi sparked a massive manhunt after police named him as the attacker who doused his ex-girlfriend and her two children with alkali in January this year.

I should point out that I have an intense dislike of genuine “converts” because, inevitably, they become insufferable pricks intent of forcing their delusions on others.

Hat tip: Stephen Harvie.

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