Pakistani Christian attacked by group of men in UK for displaying cross in his car

Pixabay/gunthersimmermacher

Representative image: A Pakistani Christian delivery driver was beaten up by a group of men for displaying two poppies and a cross in his car.

A Pakistani Christian, who works as a food delivery driver in the United Kingdom was attacked by a group of men he says were Muslims for displaying two poppies and a cross on his car.

Tajamal Amar, 46, who fled to Britain to escape religious violence in Pakistan, suffered a broken nose and several injuries to his head and body after he was assaulted outside a fast food restaurant.

The delivery driver suspects that the group of men who attacked him on Oct. 20 were Muslims who were offended by the poppies attached to his silver Toyota to commemorate military personnel who died in war, as well as a cross dangling from the rear-view mirror. He has been taken to Royal Derby Hospital where he woke up five hours after the attack.

"Several times, local Pakistani people in Derby have taken offence from the fact that I am Christian. When they first find out, many stop talking to me. My wife and I have often been shunned," he said, according to The Sun.

"On the day of my attack the visible display of a cross in my car and two poppies just below the front bonnet, triggered the violence against me. I know this, because for a few days before the attack the same men, glared at me after they noticed my Christian paraphernalia," he continued.

No arrests have been made in connection with the attack, but police in Derby are asking for clues that might help them find the perpetrators.

Amar noted that he is a passionate supporter of the British Armed Forces, displaying the poppies throughout the year and donating to charities such as the Poppy Appeal and Help for Heroes.

He said that he will be praying for his attackers and "hope they will change their hardline approach to faith which is very dangerous for our society."

The London-based charity British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA) is coming to the aid of Amar, who fled Pakistan in 2007 after being shot over his refusal to convert to Islam.

BPCA noted that Amar's situation is similar to the persecution faced by Nissar Hussain, his wife and six kids, who all converted from Islam to Christianity in 1996.

They suffered persecution for eight years before they decided to move out of their home in Bradford, England in 2016. The family needed police escort to protect them during the process.

BPCA, which regularly provides aid to persecuted Christians in Pakistan and India, has started a petition asking the British government to investigate the growing number of hate crimes against non-Muslims in the United Kingdom.

The group has also launched a donation drive to help Amar and his family move to a safe location away from Derby.