A father, from a Muslim background, has been banned from taking his nine-year-old son to a church, after the child's Muslim mother won a court order preventing the boy from attending.
The ruling, which bars the father from taking the boy to any religious event, stipulates he must provide only Halal food and reassure the child he is "an ordinary Muslim boy following Muslim rules".
The father has been threatened that he could be denied access to his son if he breaks the court order and attempts to take him to the church or any leisure centre activities it runs.
The child's mother, who is raising the child in the Muslim faith, argued that her son would "become confused" if he attended Christian-related activities. She took her ex-husband to Derby County Court, where Judge Williscroft ruled in her favour.
'Indoctrination'
However, the father has lodged an appeal with the High Court to have the order overturned.
"This judge is simply scared of being branded Islamophobic," he said.
Concerned that his son is being indoctrinated, the father continued:
"This is nothing short of brain-washing him. Already he is telling me that I have a black heart, that I am a bad man, because I am not a practising Muslim. I am heartbroken that I have to keep him away from activities with local children.
"He is being fed the same lies I was as a child and I want better for him. This judge was so busy being politically correct that she has ignored the influence of myself as a loving father. I am terrified that he will stop wanting to see me because of his indoctrination."
Divorce
The father and his former wife had married in 2003 and lived a 'Western’ lifestyle. However, when her father passed away in 2007, her mother told her that because he had not adhered to his faith he was in Hell, and would remain there unless she became a devout Muslim.
This led to her attendance of madrassas – Islamic places of learning – wearing a hijab and shunning the couple's Christian friends, and eventually leaving her husband in 2013. Their divorce was finalised last year.
'The Christian community embraced me'
Following the divorce, the father developed close connections to his local Christian community and would take his son with him, as he enjoyed attending.
The father said: "After my divorce, the Christian community embraced me.
"They run many activities my son enjoys so I go to the church and would like to take my son.
"But when his mother found out, she applied to the court and won the order which prevents the boy being taken to any Christian building."
He added: "I was taught that Christians were heartless and immoral, that only Muslims have a peaceful faith and all others are evil. It was only when I began mixing with Christians that I learned this was nonsense."
'Judicial Bullying'
Christian Concern's Chief Executive Andrea Williams, who is also a member of the Church of England General Synod, said the ruling was a form of "judicial bullying".
"This is a form of judicial bullying. The wife is abusing the law to coerce and silence a father's right to determine his son's religious education and experience. There is a general tendency with the judicial system to avoid upsetting Islam a willingness to suppress the Christian faith and punish those who practise it.
"This would not have happened the other way around. If a Christian parent was trying to deny a child access to a mosque, there would be a huge outcry and claims of Islamophobia."
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British father banned from taking his son to church as his mother is Muslim (Mail)