Mr Hussain was attacked with a pick-axe handle and was hospitalised for 11 days in November 2015.
‘They split my kneecap…The doctor told me that’s the hardest bone in your body, it takes a lot of force to break it. But when they were beating me I kept my arms around my head and kept moving. One blow like that to my head and I would have been a goner,’ he said.
‘Over the years we have been called to re-exercise our faith and deep in faith we have forgiven our attackers.
‘This is what the Lord requires of us as he forgave – while he was hung on a cross he forgave those who persecuted him.’
‘Despite the recent brutal attack outside my home, I have no doubt whatsoever that the Lord was watching over me and preserved my life as it could have been fatal.’
Mr Hussain, together with his wife and six children, have been subject to years of harassment and criminal damage because of their Christian faith.
Hussein, who was recently awarded the top spot on a list of 2015’s ‘top 100 UK Christians’ compiled by the blogger known as Archbishop Cramner, said he believes the UK Church must do more to protect Christians.
‘The Church has to awaken and realise that the convert’s dilemma is a very grave and dire one. The Church has a moral duty to support and provide comfort for those who convert to Christianity and should so with the vigour and compassion of Christ.’
Chair of The British Pakistani Christian Association Wilson Chowdhry said Hussein is just one example of Christians facing persecution in the UK.
‘Britain’s laws do protect against such attacks but the silence from within the Muslim community and the large number of Muslims offended by conversion, mean that existing strategies to combat such hate crime are simply not fit for purpose.
‘We hope that [Hussein’s] message of forgiveness reaches a much wider community and that people of good conscience take up his cause in the UK and call for peace, unity and freedom.’
