A Christian pastor in Britain has been facing an ongoing four-month criminal investigation for speaking out peacefully about his biblical faith in public.
Pastor Dia Moodley, 58, was recently forced to attend a police interrogation or face the risk of arrest if he did not cooperate. According to Alliance Defending Freedom International, which represents the pastor, Moodley says police claimed he was targeting Muslims because he chose to preach in Bristol’s city centre.
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That interrogation comes after the pastor was handcuffed by police last November, accused of “inciting religious hatred” under the Public Order Act 1986. He was arrested and tossed in a police cell for eight hours for sharing his Christian beliefs about issues such as Islam and transgender ideology.
He was released, but then two police officers visited the pastor at his home on January 8 and questioned him again, telling him he needed to come in for further questioning as part of a criminal investigation, or be arrested.
Pastor Moodley said later, “My experience as a Christian pastor, including the police questioning why I preached in an area where I supposedly knew Muslims would be present, undoubtedly shows there is a real risk of authorities allowing Christianity to be pushed out of public spaces in the UK in favour of allowing Islam or other beliefs to dominate.”
“I did not ‘target’ anyone with my speech,” he explained. “I merely preached the Gospel to all people out of love for God and my neighbour. For the police to suggest I cannot do this in areas where Muslims are present sets a very dangerous precedent for free speech.”
Legal Counsel for ADF International Jeremiah Igunnubole said, “Pastor Dia’s arrest for peacefully commenting on Islam and transgender ideology shows police are using public order legislation to impose de facto blasphemy laws in the UK.”
“The police’s suggestion, in their questioning of Pastor Dia, that the right to free speech does not extend to public spaces where Muslims are present is totally antithetical to the tradition of liberty in Great Britain,” Igunnubole said.
This was the second time Avon and Somerset Police arrested the pastor for witnessing about his faith in public. In March 2024, he was arrested for the same reason, and as CBN News reported at the time, he was exonerated.
FULL STORY: Pastor Reaches Settlement With UK Police Who Tried to Block Him from ‘Comments on Religion’
While preaching again in March of 2025, the pastor was assaulted by Muslim bystanders and one man even threatened to stab him. ADF International reported in February of 2026 that police still had not charged any of the individuals who assaulted him.
