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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Hotelier 'ruined' by Muslim row | Hotelier 'ruined' by Muslim row |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A devout Christian hotelier accused a guest he allegedly insulted over her Muslim faith of trying to ruin his business during a court hearing. | A devout Christian hotelier accused a guest he allegedly insulted over her Muslim faith of trying to ruin his business during a court hearing. |
| Benjamin Vogelenzang, 53, scolded Ericka Tazi from the witness box at Liverpool Magistrates' Court. | |
| His wife Sharon, 54, also told the court that takings were down by 80% at The Bounty House Hotel, Aintree. | |
| The couple deny using threatening, abusive or insulting words which were religiously aggravated. | The couple deny using threatening, abusive or insulting words which were religiously aggravated. |
| They also claimed 60-year-old Mrs Tazi, a white British Muslim convert, told them that Jesus was a "minor prophet" and that the bible was untrue. | |
| 'Robust' debate | |
| Mr Vogelenzang told prosecutor Anya Horwood in cross examination: "At the time I was persuaded she (Ericka) was quite a nice person. | |
| "I was mistaken, you know why? She wasn't a nice person, she wasn't a loving person, she ratted to the police and is trying to make us lose our business." | |
| Upon hearing his comments, District Judge Richard Clancy told him: "Behave yourself please." | |
| When Mr Vogelenzang returned to the dock to sit alongside his wife he bowed his head and began to cry. | |
| The court heard that the couple, who have five adopted children and have fostered a Muslim boy, returned to the hotel after a holiday three days before the alleged incident on 20 March. | |
| The hotel manager told them that guests had engaged in robust debates about religion over dinner table, led by Mrs Tazi and a self confessed happy clappy Christian". | |
| The trial continues. |