Pastor Interrogated For Commenting on Transgenderism & Islam

A Bristol-based Christian pastor who was arrested last November for peacefully preaching on public streets has undergone formal police questioning as part of a four-month criminal investigation, one that his legal team says has effectively silenced him during two of the most important seasons in the Christian calendar.

 

Pastor Dia Moodley, supported by the legal advocacy organization ADF International, attended a voluntary interview under caution at an Avon and Somerset Police station on 10 March.

 

During the interview, officers questioned whether it was appropriate for a Christian pastor to criticize transgender ideology, and asked why he chose to preach in an area where he knew Muslims would be present — a line of questioning his legal counsel has described as deeply troubling.

 

An Arrest Rooted in Peaceful Preaching

 

Pastor Moodley was arrested on 22 November 2025 on suspicion of committing a “religiously aggravated” public order offence and “inciting religious hatred” under the Public Order Act 1986. The arrest came while he was sharing his Christian beliefs in Broadmead, Bristol with no specific group targeted.

 

It wasn’t his first encounter with police over his public ministry.

 

In March 2024, he was arrested on similar grounds for commenting on Islam and transgender ideology while street preaching. That investigation was eventually dropped. He was also twice threatened with arrest in March 2025 for “breaching the peace” while preaching about differences between Christianity and Islam.

 

Chilling Effect on Christian Witness

 

The pastor says the ongoing investigation has had a direct and damaging effect on his ability to carry out his ministry. He refrained from street preaching over Christmas and, until this Easter weekend, hadn’t returned to the streets out of fear of further arrest.

 

“I consider public preaching to be an essential part of my worship, which the police have de facto inhibited due to their investigation,” Pastor Moodley said. “There are no Islamic or progressive blasphemy laws in this country, and yet time and time again the police have censored me as if there are.”

 

Despite the fear, both his own and that of his congregation, the pastor returned to street preaching on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday, saying he believed it was his Christian duty to do so. “There’s a fear in my heart and a fear in my congregation that I could be arrested on Sunday morning,” he told The Telegraph.

 

Concerns Over Two-Tier Policing

 

Pastor Moodley has raised serious concerns about the nature of the police questioning during his interview under caution. He says officers implied that his right to free speech didn’t extend to areas where Muslims were present, a suggestion he and his legal team reject outright.

 

“My experience as a Christian pastor, including the police questioning why I preached in an area where I supposedly knew Muslims would be present, undoubtedly shows there is a real risk of authorities allowing Christianity to be pushed out of public spaces in the UK,” he said.

 

Jeremiah Igunnubole, Barrister and Legal Counsel for ADF International, was unequivocal in his response: “Bristol city centre is not a Muslim area or a progressive area in which those worldviews cannot be criticised. Every area in Britain is subject to the rule of law, which includes the protection of the right to freedom of speech. Permitting one group to have a veto over another undermines the principle of equality under the law and reintroduces blasphemy laws through the back door.”

 

Mr Igunnubole also pointed to the legal precedent set in DPP v. Coskun, which confirmed there is no blasphemy law in England and Wales, noting that mere offence taken at an expression doesn’t make that expression criminal.

 

A Pattern of Restrictions

 

The current investigation is the latest in a series of confrontations between Pastor Moodley and Avon and Somerset Police.

 

Following his first arrest in 2024, police unlawfully ordered the destruction of signs he used during his street preaching, and have yet to respond formally to his request for compensation. Officers also previously attempted to restrict him from commenting on any religion other than Christianity while preaching, restrictions later dropped and acknowledged as “disproportionate” following a legal challenge by ADF International.

 

In a further incident in March 2025, the pastor was assaulted by bystanders while preaching, with one individual reportedly threatening to stab him. No charges have been brought against those involved in the assault.

 

Legal Action Being Considered

 

Pastor Moodley is now considering civil legal action against Avon and Somerset Police for the violation of his free speech rights.

 

“The process truly has become the punishment for me,” he said. “Avon and Somerset Police have subjected me to an arrest, eight hours in a police cell, and a four-month-long ongoing criminal investigation for peacefully expressing my views in the public square. The police should drop this investigation and refrain from censoring me again in the future.”

 

Mr Igunnubole framed the case as having implications far beyond one pastor’s ministry: “Pastor Dia’s fight against censorship and two-tier policing in this case is a battle for the free speech rights of all people in this country.”

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