An anti-immigration group which claims to be a Christian “army of patriots” is instead showing “the opposite of what Jesus was about”, according to a Christian academic and refugee charity founder.
Hundreds of people took to the streets in two protests over the weekend. In Dover, men in black clothing and balaclavas blocked roads in and out of the port for several hours on Saturday. Some were filmed shouting “Christ is King”. Then on Sunday evening, a crowd gathered after a migrant dinghy arrived in Portsmouth.
Danny Tommo, leader of the far-right Patriot Platform, organised the protest in Dover; then he livestreamed from the scene in Portsmouth. He has stated that he is a Christian having turned his life around after being jailed for attempted kidnap in 2016, according to The Times.
The group has described itself as Christian, being an “army of patriots” brought together to “reclaim our borders, restore order and send a clear message: Britain belongs to the British”. Its actions were praised by activist Tommy Robinson as “a movement of patriotic men [who] are ready for the Battle of Britain.”
Dr Krish Kandiah, founder of the Sanctuary Foundation, told Premier Christian News that the protesters were not showing Christian values.
He said: “Jesus said that we were to be sent out as sheep or lambs amongst wolves. He didn’t tell us to dress like wolves.
“They are intimidating, they are frightening local people, they are disrupting the police. They are not exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. This is anger and hatred and cursing. This doesn't feel like a very Christian response.”
Kandiah recounted his conversations at Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom rally: “The men I met were quite marginalised. They felt hard done by by society. They felt they needed to do something. But I feel like they’re like sheep without a shepherd.
“They have been shepherded in the wrong direction, and they're actually being told ‘this is about Jesus’, but it’s absolutely the opposite of what Jesus was about. He was very critical of those who were really judgmental in his day and dehumanising to other people; those people were called Pharisees
“The challenge is to the leaders of these movements, who are making use of, I think, easily persuadable men to do some really nasty stuff. I want to take the leaders on, and say ‘look, this is not a Christian movement. There's no theology, there's no Bible, there's no Jesus in what you're doing.’”
“I spare a thought for the people of Dover. Just ordinary folk going about their day, suddenly 300 potentially men dressed in quite threatening ways walking the streets, that can't make life better. That's not bringing the light of the grace of God, that looks like spreading the darkness”, he added.