AROPL in the UK, Impressions from the Field: 1. A War Against a Religion?

Why did 500 police officers carry out an unprecedented assault on a peaceful community? I went to Crewe and found my answer.

by Marco Respinti

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I visited the headquarters of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (AROPL) in Crewe, about an hour’s drive south of Manchester city center in the United Kingdom, in early July 2026, a little more than two months after the police stormed the place.

In view of possible new developments, it now seems appropriate to publish some considerations I withheld for a long time for reasons of expediency, in the interest of the AROPL community. In the meantime, renowned scholars of religion and new religious movements (NRMs) and human rights activists such as Massimo Introvigne and Willy Fautré have published invaluable reports informing both professionals in the field and the public about the nature and scope of what happened on April 29. I now wish to add some personal impressions.

On the day of the raid, some 500 police officers in full gear assaulted Webb House, a former orphanage that AROPL had redesigned as a home and house of worship for dozens of devotees living communally.

Then, for months, the situation appeared frozen. None of the AROPL members who were arrested and later released on conditional bail, including the leader of the group, Abdullah Hashem Aba Al-Sadiq, has received formal criminal charges. Thus, no one knows whether or when there will be trials. Nonetheless, they are required to reside outside Crewe (Hashem outside the county of Cheshire, where the town of Crewe is located), and they still live apart from their children, including, at the time of my visit, a pregnant mother expecting her second child in two months.

In Crewe, where I spent a brief but quite intense stay, I met with the AROPL members still allowed to reside there both in Webb House and in private homes (some of the faithful were already living in private residences before the police assault, while others have been forced to dismantle the communal life they led and rent new apartments at their own expense).

Into the lair of no secrets

During the trip, I met Abdullah Hashem and his friend Joseph McGowen, and spoke or spent time with several believers from many walks of life: from security guards to medical doctors, from the artist responsible for the beautiful works in the part of Webb House known as the “Hall of Mysteries” to media operators, from a social worker to ordinary mothers and fathers, longtime believers and newcomers alike—and this invites reflection.

Undoubtedly, Abdullah Hashem is a charismatic person, yet he is devoid of any megalomania or narcissism. He speaks in plain language even when he uses loaded words. He is direct and simple, which does not mean simplistic, unnuanced, or superficial. He begins a conversation by asking for your opinion and judgment. He answers questions without unnecessary digressions. He needs no fanfare or entourage. He asks you to pray for him and the community he leads. We even briefly discussed Roman Catholicism (my own faith) and democracy.

As for “Joe,” you only discover afterward that he is Joseph McGowen, whom anti-cult activists and general opponents of AROPL describe as the mastermind, along with Abdullah Hashem, of a deceptive “cult” created to mentally enslave naïve followers. He is a “gentle giant” who speaks firmly yet humbly and, in his distinctive American accent, asks permission from the sister (in the faith) sitting next to him when he needs to get a little personal.

The same notorious anti-cult activists have also often spoken of “high-profile” members of the AROPL community, sometimes identifying them with the small group of people generically accused (though not yet formally charged) of the usual—no imagination here—offenses of sexual misconduct, forced marriage, and human trafficking. My personal experience with AROPL in the field suggests that either the entire AROPL community is made up of Oscar-worthy performers who play their parts perfectly, or nothing of the sort exists.

Members of the community treat one another as friends. They call each other “brothers” and “sisters.” High-ranking individuals are, in everyday life, equal to everyone else. Anyone can freely interject in a conversation with a “high-ranking” person, provided they observe the simple rule of politeness—the same rule that leads members of the community to greet and bless an outsider like me at every turn. I saw a distressed mother interrupt Abdullah Hashem without embarrassment or causing any scandal, although for her he is the Qa’im of the Family of Muhammad, the Mahdi, and the one appointed in the Will of the Prophet of Islam.

The whole narrative of a closed, dark sect hiding secrets seemed to me—as someone of quite a different religious persuasion—a gross misrepresentation. I could ask anything, photograph whatever I wanted, move freely among male members as well as unveiled female members, and play with their children. More than that: AROPL members want to be asked questions about their theology and initiatives.

It is also no secret that the community’s strong passion for Italian pasta with homemade sauces and caprese with fresh burrata extends even to small children.

Ignorance at Webb House

As we all know, the April 29 incident left a trail of distress. Part of it involves mobs gathering outside the gates of Webb House every single day, starting around 4 p.m. Some protesters have become permanent fixtures, and their faces are now well known to the Webb House community. They photograph those entering and leaving, chant slanders, and shout accusations against “unwelcome immigrants.” This, once again, convinced me of how deeply disturbing stupidity is.

Of course, AROPL members come to Webb House from different countries, but many residents are British citizens. Several have blond hair and even blue eyes—which one might think would be enough to satisfy the absurd demand for “racial purity” voiced by the crowd insulting AROPL. Some of those “Aryan” British citizens were among the people the police allegedly assaulted, pushed, and beat during the April 29 raid. Are the residents of Webb House condemned for being immigrants, regardless of their beliefs, or for being members of a so-called “cult”—even when they can be described as “white Anglo-Saxons”? For the shouting mob at the main gate of Webb House, the answer is unclear.

While touring the property, I noticed side gates that were easier to breach than the main entrance. I asked whether any incidents had occurred there and why those gates were not more closely monitored. AROPL members explained to me that there had been a few acts of vandalism there, but they were rare. The protesters prefer the main entrance for two reasons: first, because there they “intimidate” people by ridiculously furrowing their brows as they peer into cars, “searching”; second, because the main gate gives these farces an audience of passers-by.

Passers-by are also useful to the mob, as they may become additional targets of smears, insults, and shouting, simply for the sake of provocation.

Abuse of power

Reflecting on my memories during the flight home, one thing that astonished me was why the local authorities felt the need to send an army of 500 law enforcement officers to raid a place where they could simply have knocked and been let in. The police, other officials, and local authorities had done so before, and most of AROPL’s events are public. I knocked, and I entered. And I am just a journalist. Police, social workers, and authorities, by contrast, are powerful. If, for some reason, the authorities and the police believed the community harbored unspeakable secrets, officers could easily have infiltrated it by pretending to want to know the group better or even to be interested in the AROPL faith. AROPL explains and teaches, invites inquiries, and has a strong presence on social media and YouTube. What need was there to assault a peaceful community, beat its members—including women and pregnant women—throw men to the ground, pin them down with a knee pressed against their faces on the pavement, and handcuff them?

Accusations of crimes? They are only allegations

The more I recall and review my memories and notes, and re-listen to the interviews I recorded there with several members, whose names I withhold as promised to protect their privacy, the more I arrive at the same conclusion. The use of force by police officers, the cold brutality against a community that could have been visited peacefully at any time, the unnecessary violence, a set of accusations built on fragile claims that have not yet received any legal confirmation, the breaking up of families, the seizure of private property later returned under restrictive conditions, the confinement of individuals—including the leader—without formal charges, and the toleration of a mob that continues to harass the community daily, even setting parts of the property on fire or urinating on its fences, are not the signs of a regular investigation into an alleged crime. It is an abuse of power.

It is simply the expression of prejudiced hostility toward a group, rooted in hatred of its very nature.

It is disdain, loathing, and aversion toward a group because of its religion.

It is yet another chapter in the global war waged against new religious movements and perhaps against religion in general—and a most serious and disturbing one, for reasons I will outline in the second installment of this series.

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