Washington defends an anti-Islam preacher targeted by British police

The Trump administration is once again attacking Europe, this time to support a British evangelical pastor known for its attacks on Islam. Dia Moodley, a street preacher based in Bristol, was received in March by representatives of the American State Department, who came to listen to those whom they consider victims of “religious censorship” in the United Kingdom. Very active on the public highway, Dia Moodley describes Islam as “lie” and the Koran of “not true”, opposing the “light” of Christianity to the “darkness” which he attributes to Islam. For him, “Compare is part of the Christian way of transmitting the message”a way of justifying your provocative remarks.

He had been prohibited in 2021 by local police to comment on any religion other than his own or to preach without official green light. He challenged these restrictions, with the help of ADF International UK, a very conservative Christian organization linked to American anti-abortion circles. After meeting American diplomats in London, Moodley said: “It looked like our own government should have done – sit with us and listen to us really”. A way for him to show that, according to him, the British authorities do not take his complaints seriously.

Behind this so-called fight for freedom of expression, it is a real ideological offensive that is played out. By highlighting the Moodley case, American evangelical networks seek to export their culture of religious confrontation. Washington’s support for a man who openly attacks Islam raises questions. Is it a real defense of freedoms, or a new political shot targeting Muslims, in a context where identity tensions are already strong on both sides of the Atlantic? This kind of initiative does not defend freedom, it stirs fire.