In yet another development, which has exposed the dark belly of modern multicultural Britain, which has all too often been depicted by radical progressives as a paragon of diversity, nine people have been arrested over allegations of serious sexual offences, forced marriage and modern slavery among members of a religious group in the Cheshire town of Crewe.
The operation also involved Europol, with officers from Ireland and Sweden supporting British police. Cheshire Police said six men and three women of American, Mexican, Italian, Spanish, Swedish and Egyptian nationalities were in custody.
More than 500 officers drawn from multiple police forces took part in raids at three addresses in Crewe, as part of an investigation of the group in Crewe called the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (AROPL), an Abrahamic millenarian syncretic new religious movement founded in 2015, which derives from Twelver Shi’ite Islam.
Along with its UK headquarters in Crewe (which was raided) and having charitable status in the UK, the AROPL is also registered as an organisation in Reno, Nevada, the United States.
It appears the AROPL synthesises some tenets of Shi’ite Islam with conspiratorial beliefs regarding the Illuminati and aliens controlling American presidents.
The leader of the religious sect is Abdullah Hashem Aba Al-Sadiq, an Egyptian-American who claims to be the Qa’im – the Islamic eschatological figure who is widely believed to restore the religion and justice until the end of time – and to have been appointed by the will of the Prophet Muhammad.
He has his own YouTube channel, The Mahdi Has Appeared, with followers believing he can cure the unwell and make the moon disappear.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time that the AROPL has made the national news in the UK. Only last month, it was reported that the Home Office was investigating a company linked to the religious sect over its use of immigration visas.
UK immigration officials were looking into the company over its use of skilled worker visas to bring people into the country.
To understand how Britain's history is being rewritten, look to this Islamic sect | Cheshire Constabulary
The AROPL moved to the UK back in 2021, after transferring its headquarters from Sweden – where the country’s immigration authorities investigated several companies linked to the sect and issued deportation orders to dozens of its members.
It has also been reported that in the region of 150 followers live together in the sprawling, grade II-listed building, the Webb House in Crewe (which was formerly an orphanage).
At the time, over 50 children were understood to be living at the group’s headquarters, where they were being home-schooled.
The raid on AROPL in Crewe raises serious questions in terms of the robustness of the UK’s immigration and border security systems, the procedures surrounding the awarding of charitable status, and local safeguarding.
Crewe is traditionally known for the production of British luxury cars and railway engineering, along with its 120-year football stadium, Gresty Road – the home of ‘The Alex’.
Now it has made the national news over a scandal surrounding alleged cases of sexual offending, forced marriages, and modern slavery – one involving a religious sect that was allowed far too much freedom to lay down its roots in the UK.