Christian hoteliers 'abused Muslim guest'

The accuser is a 60yr old convert to Islam - converted 18 months ago on marrying her husband. Said she came to Muslim after a long "journey" - we should presume she'll remain a Muslim until her next husband.

Did she even know Muhammad that was a 'warlord'? Of course she was offended - she hasn't got a clue!!

She is the only one who took the stand today.

Is this a police matter...

The woman suffers from chronic pain.. Islam grievance central.

Here is one of her statements:

Mrs Tazi agreed that she said to Mr Vogelenzang, “Would you prefer to have my breasts out, my backside hanging out and me pie-eyed? Would that be more righteous?”

Hmm..

A pair of Christian hoteliers insulted a Muslim guest by calling her a terrorist and comparing the prophet Muhammad to a warlord, a court in Liverpool heard today.

Ericka Tazi, 60, a Muslim convert, told a district judge that she had been staying at the Bounty House Hotel, in Aintree, last March while she attended a four-week pain management course at Aintree Hospital.

On the last day she decided to wear the hijab – a traditional Muslim headdress that covers the hair – as a demonstration of her religious journey but when she came down for breakfast she was subjected to a tirade from Ben Vogelenzang, 53, the proprietor, and aggressive finger-pointing from his wife, Sharon, 54, who told her that her dress represented bondage.

In her evidence Mrs Tazi, a mother who lives in Warrington, Cheshire, accused Mr Vogelenzang of becoming like a “whirling dervish”, likening Muhammad to warlords through the ages and asking her: “Are you a terrorist or a murderer?”

After the alleged verbal assault Mrs Tazi had to be taken to hospital.

Under cross-examination Mrs Tazi, who suffers from a neurological condition, became flustered and admitted that her illness meant that she had difficulty in recalling some events. But she denied that she had exaggerated or distorted the incident.

She told Liverpool Magistrates’ Court: “He said ‘why are you wearing those?’ He was just laughing at me. It [the hijab] seemed to trigger something. I don’t know why because I am still the same person underneath the garment.

“He called Muhammad a warlord. He was very animated, loud and intimidating. He asked if I was a terrorist. I am a 60-year-old disabled woman. I could not understand where he was coming from. It shocked me.

“I tried to walk away to get my breakfast but he came in waving his arms and shouting was I a murderer, a Nazi like Hitler. The way I was dressed triggered something”.

Mr Vogelenzang, a Dutchman, and his wife Sharon, both devout Christians, sat in the dock in front of their supporters from the Christian Institute. They each deny the charge of religiously aggravated threatening behaviour under Section 5 of the Public Order Act.

Earlier about 40 supporters gathered outside the court singing hymns and waving placards demanding the right to free speech.

Anya Holwood, opening for the prosecution, suggested that earlier there had been discussions about religion with other women attending the course. One, she suggested, had been overheard by Mr Vogelenzang who then made various comments about Muhammad, saying he was a warlord and likened him to other warlords through history.

Ms Holwood said that at that point Pauline Tate, another woman on the course and a devout Christian, told him: “You do realise Ericka is a Muslim?” She told the court that Mrs Tazi decided on the last morning to wear the hijab. She had explained to friends that she had made the decision after some time because the day represented a “significant event for her”.

Ms Holwood said that Mr Vogelenzang immediately began laughing at her and making fun of her. He became angry and started shouting at her and, at that point, his wife joined in. She told Mrs Tazi that the clothes represented oppression and bondage.

“Mrs Tazi asked them to stop and walked away into the dining room,” said Ms Holwood. “The male defendant followed her and he was shouting, waving his arms in the air.”

Ms Holwood said that Mrs Tazi was deeply upset as she boarded the ambulance that took her to hospital. The driver thought she was suffering a panic attack.

Mrs Tazi, who kissed the Koran as she took the oath, wore what she described as traditional Islamic dress, a patterned brown head scarf and gown, to give evidence.

Her family, including other women in hijabs, listened from the public gallery as she explained that she had tried other religions in her life, including the Catholic faith, but came to Muslim after a long “journey”. Her sons had accepted her in Islamic dress.

Her version of events was questioned under cross examination by Hugh Tomlinson, QC, defence counsel. He suggested that she had exaggerated and distorted perfectly normal exchanges, and that the word terrorist was never used.

She replied: “I do not call it normal. I call it abnormal. The words terrorist and murderer were used.”

Mrs Tazi also denied that it had been her who initially raised the topic of religion or that she had told Mr Vogelenzang that Jesus was a minor prophet and that the Bible was not true.

When asked whether Mr Vogelenzang, who has a thick Dutch accent, could have suggested that politics and religion were a source of trouble over the centuries, she replied “possibly”.

She told the court: “There is a lot I don’t remember because I was traumatised”.

Mrs Tazi agreed that she said to Mr Vogelenzang, “Would you prefer to have my breasts out, my backside hanging out and me pie-eyed? Would that be more righteous?”

Mr Tomlinson suggested that Mrs Tazi had exaggerated and distorted her story and that she had told the ambulance driver that she was upset because the couple had been “taking the piss” out of her. She replied: “I was distraught”.

The trial continues.


Christian hoteliers 'abused Muslim guest' - Times Online