An Irish pastor who condemned Islam during a sermon is being investigated by police in Northern Ireland for a possible hate crime.
Pastor James McConnell of Whitewell Metropolitan Church gave a sermon on Sunday May 18th condemning Islam after being outraged over the treatment of Meriam Ibrahim, a Sudanese Christian sentenced to death because she will not convert to Islam.
In the sermon, Pastor McConnell said that Christians around the world are persecuted and killed daily for belief in Christ by “fanatical worshippers of Allah.” He said that Allah is not the same as the Christian God but rather a heathen deity and the British government was foolish for attempting to appease radical Islamists.
Northern Ireland politicians immediately condemned the pastor’s comments. Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said that the preacher’s comments about the Islamic religion were “hate mongering.” He called for a full investigation of the pastor to see if his comments could generate racist attacks on Muslims.
I fully agree with him, I think it a sham on the political agenda to appease terrorists, which Islamic extremists are by definition.