Bitter Winter Reports on AROPL Following the Webb House Raid

Bitter Winter, “A magazine on religious liberty and human rights,” has documented much of the struggles faced by the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light over the past couple of years. With the focus of this publication being human rights and religious liberty, it is uniquely placed to highlight and bring attention to the various abuses encountered by AROPL globally. 

When the headquarters in Crewe was raided on the 29th of April, the entire community was shocked and confused as to why and how this could happen in the UK, a country that prides itself on the freedom of expression and belief. Bitter Winter magazine published an article on the 3rd of June 2026 entitled “The Saga of AROPL: Racism, Riots, and Violence,” written by Massimo Introvigne, founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), an international network of scholars who study new religious movements. Introvigne is the author of some 70 books and more than 100 articles in the field of sociology of religion. The article gives a breakdown of the incidents at Webb House since the property was reopened to the community of believers on the 3rd of May.

Bitter Winter Article

“The first protests began almost immediately after the raid, but the most intense episodes started on 3 May, when Webb House was reopened to the community. Within hours, a protest had formed outside the premises, mobilized largely through TikTok livestreams. Observers noted that a significant proportion of the protesters were teenagers, some as young as thirteen, drawn in by sensational online narratives portraying AROPL as dangerous, criminal, or predatory. The chants recorded on video were unambiguous: “Get them out,” “F*** off home,” “We don’t want nonces here,” and other slogans that combined xenophobia, Islamophobia, and defamatory accusations of sexual misconduct. None of these accusations had any basis in fact. No allegation of paedophilia has ever been made in any formal legal proceeding against any member of the community. Yet the protesters repeated these claims with absolute conviction, demonstrating how quickly falsehoods can become social truth when amplified through digital platforms.” 

The report goes on to detail further activities throughout May, culminating with the night of the 1st of June going into the 2nd of June. This inspired a narrative to develop online via social media to vilify the community further and facilitate the targeting of members of the faith as legitimate pariahs for the rapidly and now regularly formed crowd aiming to intimidate and expel members from Crewe entirely. Further reading is advised for those seeking a legitimate perspective on the goings-on throughout the month of May at the gates of Webb House. The Divine Just State magazine wishes to extend a hand of gratitude to Bitter Winter, CESNUR and Massimo Introvigne for the impartial support and coverage of the struggles of AROPL since 2024.