Christian evangelist stabbed in London recovers from injuries
Hatun Tash is a Christian apologist who has been sharing the gospel with Muslims in the well-known Speaker’s Corner of Hyde Park.
Evangelical Focus (26.07.2021) – https://bit.ly/3l8gpnn – Hatun Tash, a former Muslim who is now a Christian speaker sharing the gospel with Muslim background people, was stabbed in the Speaker’s Corner, an area in London’s Hyde Park were public debates are organised.
According to friends and colleagues of Christian ministry Hatun has worked with, the 39-year-old woman “is fine and under medical attention”.
The Christian woman was stabbed on her hand and face by a young man wearing black, who later fled the scene as some of the other 30 people there confronted him. The knife used in the attack was recovered.
According to UK newspaper The Daily Mail, Detective Superintendent Alex Bingley (Central West Command Unit), said: “This was clearly a very distressing incident for the woman involved and officers have spent time with her, whilst she was being treated for her injury, to get an account of what happened”. He asked for members of the public who had video recordings of the attack to share them with the police. The Superintendent added that no arrests had been made yet.
A Christian apologist among Muslims
Hatun is known for debating Muslims and offering a Christian perspective that confronts Islam.
Social media video footage shows how even as she waits for an ambulance to arrive, Hatun speaks to Muslims citizens about the need to “repent”. “God does not need me”, she says with blood on her face and arm. She had previously collapsed for some minutes.
Hatun Tash leads DCCI ministries, which “seeks to preach the Gospel to Muslims using apologetics and polemics (…) Our motivation is a love for Muslims to bring them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ in order to attain eternal life”.
She and has worked with several Christian ministries, both in the UK and outside, including Pfander, an organisation that “engages Islam through research, writing, film, informal and formal debates”. According to Jay Smith, a friend of Tash and founder of Pfander, it is not the first time she has been attacked with violence. “We need to pray for her recovery”, Smith said in a video published after the incident. “This will not detract her”. He added: “Speaker’s Corner should be a place where we can speak and we can criticise”.
Hatun Tash has also been a speaker at the European Leadership Forum, an annual conference in Poland bringing together evangelical leaders from across Europe.
HRWF comment
The incident was either ignored by a number of mainline British media or focusing on the victim’s wearing a Charlie Hebdo tee-shirt. It hereby gave the impression that it was the sole reason for the attack but they failed to mention the possibly religious dimension of the assault (See i.e. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-57965251)
See the analysis of the media coverage of the incident on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gTYtEc12Pg
The victim is a 39-year-old ex-Muslim from Turkey who is now a prominent critic of Islam and believes Muslims should be encouraged to convert to Christianity.
She has had many heated discussions with Islamic preachers and others, and has previously been attacked for piercing holes through the Koran and waving a cartoon image of the Prophet Mohammed depicted as a crying baby.
In October 2020, Sadiq Khan was asked about Ms Tash at Mayor’s Question Time and said police had escorted her out of Hyde Park ‘for her own safety’ after a large and hostile crowd had gathered around her. He added that ‘freedom of speech is a principle that I hold dear’, adding: ‘One of the best things about London is the fierce way in which we protect this right and people’s ability to exercise it.’
Photo : The Christian speaker Hatun Tash after being attacked on 25 July. / Video: Soco Films via Pfander films.
Further reading about FORB in United Kingdom on HRWF website