Christian Survivor Reveals Muslim Abusers Mocked Her Faith as UK Grooming Gang Inquiry Dodges Islam

UK Grooming Gang Inquiry Accused of Deliberately Excluding Islam From Investigation

The UK government's planned Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs is facing serious criticism for allegedly excluding the role of Islam from its scope. Tim Dieppe of Christian Concern has accused the inquiry of deliberately sidelining religion as a motivating factor behind decades of abuse.

The inquiry's draft terms of reference mention religion only three times, and only in relation to institutional responses rather than the motivations of perpetrators. Dieppe stated:

It seems then that the government deliberately wants to keep the role of religion in motivating grooming gang abuse out of the scope.

The government has said it will commission separate research into the question of religious motivation, but critics argue that research lacks the investigative powers of a formal inquiry. Details of this research have not been disclosed.

A privately funded inquiry led by MP Rupert Lowe, which gathered evidence independently, concluded that Islam was a significant motivating factor in grooming gang crimes. A survivor who testified before the Lowe inquiry revealed that abuse would escalate around the Islamic holiday of Eid and that her Christian faith was specifically targeted by her abusers.

I grew up a Christian .. it was just used as a way to break me down, as in 'Where is your God now? Why has your God forsaken you?'

Dr. Mark Durie, an Anglican scholar and expert in Islamic theology, has argued that the grooming gang phenomenon is more closely connected to Islamic theology than to ethnicity. His report identifies concepts including notions of religious superiority, male dominance, and the absence of age of consent frameworks within certain interpretations of Islamic law as relevant factors.

A letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, signed by opposition figures, urges the inquiry to investigate whether the religious backgrounds of perpetrators constituted causal factors in the abuse. The inquiry's terms of reference are set to be finalized by 31 March 2026, with a budget of £65 million and a three year timeline to report.

Christian Survivors Targeted for Their Faith in UK Grooming Gang Abuse Scandal

The National Secular Society has also weighed in, highlighting how fear of criticising religion, particularly Islam, may have contributed to institutional failures in responding to grooming gangs. The deadline to respond to the inquiry's public consultation was 6 March 2026.

The Crusader's Opinion

A Christian girl was raped, and her abusers mocked Christ while they did it. They escalated their attacks on holy days. They forced victims to recite the Quran and wear Islamic dress. And the British government wants to launch a £65 million inquiry that conveniently avoids asking whether Islam had anything to do with it. This is cowardice dressed up as policy. Imagine if Christian men had systematically groomed Muslim girls across dozens of cities for decades, quoting Scripture as they violated them. Every government on earth would name it. Every newspaper would print it. Every inquiry would investigate it. But when the perpetrators follow a different religion, suddenly "sensitivity" becomes more important than truth. These survivors deserve an inquiry that names the evil for what it is, not one that tiptoes around it to protect political alliances. If your inquiry is afraid of the answer, it is not an inquiry. It is a cover up.

Take Action

• Read and share Christian Concern's full analysis of the inquiry's failure to address the role of Islam.
• Contact your MP and demand that the terms of reference for the grooming gangs inquiry explicitly include investigation of religious motivation. Find your MP at parliament.uk.
• Support The Shepherd's Shield in their work standing for persecuted Christians and demanding accountability.
• Donate to or share the Rupert Lowe Rape Gang Inquiry crowdfunder which is independently investigating what the government will not.
• Pray for the survivors who were targeted specifically for their Christian faith. Share their testimonies so their voices are not silenced by political convenience.