A Muslim woman was arrested at The Angel Church in Islington, England, after she vowed to “kill the God of the Jews” and disrupted a worship service last Sunday by screaming “Allahu Akbar.”
The Sept. 1 incident involved antisemitic threats towards the congregation, according to the United Kingdom.based advocacy group Christian Concern.
The woman, who has not been named, stormed into the church around 10 a.m., shortly before the Sunday service, vocally targeting the congregation.
Pastor Regan King, who was in the church with his Jewish wife, Rachel, and their young children, said the woman shouted Islamic calls to prayer in Arabic and declared her intention to “kill the God of the Jews.”
The pastor acted quickly to ensure his family’s safety and confronted the woman, demanding she leave the premises, according to Christian Concern. However, the woman’s aggression escalated, prompting an urgent call to the Metropolitan Police.
“Police were called at around 10 a.m. on Sunday, September 1 to a church in EC1 to reports that a woman was inside the venue making anti-Semitic comments and causing alarm to a number of worshippers present,” a Metropolitan Police spokesman said in a statement shared with The Daily Mail.
“Officers attended, and when they attempted to arrest the woman, she kicked and punched one of the officers, and pushed a second. … She was arrested on suspicion of a religiously-aggravated public order offence and assaulting emergency workers, and was taken into custody. She was later released on bail pending further inquiries.”
According to Christian Concern, the suspect tried to appeal to one of the officers she believed to be a Muslim, urging him to “remember Allah.” The officer, maintaining his professionalism, informed her he did not speak Arabic and advised her to communicate in English.
As the situation intensified, the woman resorted to physical violence against the police, kicking, punching and pushing them, which led to additional charges of assaulting emergency workers.
Officers were forced to use leg and feet restraints to safely transport her to a police van. She was later released on bail pending further inquiries.
“My family and I are deeply concerned and shaken by this incident, especially my wife who is Jewish. She is traumatized and now fears going outside,” the pastor was quoted as saying.
“Since October 7th, especially (when Hamas attacked Israel last year), as a family and church, we have experienced multiple incidents of antisemitism and anti-Christianity. Yet we are undeterred and will continue to operate as usual albeit with plans for increasing our security.”
In the aftermath, a police faith liaison officer visited the pastor, reaffirming the seriousness with which local authorities treated the incident.
The pastor clarified that his church welcomes people of all backgrounds to hear and be transformed by “the message of Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, who brings salvation to all who trust Him.”
King added: “The darkness of our world would threaten to divide, discourage, and destroy, yet it cannot conquer the light of Christ’s truth. While this incident created significant concern and distress, we did what never fails — we prayed.”
Despite this, local media have been reluctant to label the attack as Islam-motivated, a point of contention within the community, Christian Concern noted.
Christian Concern Chief Executive Andrea Williams said the organization will support church leaders, Christians and Jews in communities who are subjected to such attacks and abuse.
“We are encouraged that the police responded swiftly and decisively during this incident, but believe more must be done to protect synagogues and churches across the U.K. from emboldened radical Islam,” she said.
