A MAN has been brutally assaulted by a gang in Bradford after converting from Islam to Christianity. Father-of-six Nissar Hussain was left needing surgery after the group of assailants broke his kneecap and hand last Wednesday. Mr Hussain, 49, is recovering in hospital after the attacks, which follow a long line of incidents following his family’s conversion to Christianity more than a decade ago. Mr Hussain has said that he and his family were virtual prisoners in their home as a result. He told the Bradford Argus: “We are under the cosh and classed as blasphemers. The Muslim community are largely decent people but because of the taboo of converting to Christianity we are classed by them as scum and second-class citizens. “Most of the Muslim community here have turned a blind eye to what we are going through.” Mr Hussain told the Catholic Herald that despite his persecution he had received little help from police or churches. “There needs to be an awakening among churches,” he said. “We have found ourselves in no man’s land. There is a lack of cultural understanding about what it costs people such as ourselves. We are classed as apostates.” He said he had “three cars written off” and “regular drive-by bricks thrown through the window. Kids couldn’t play in the back garden for five years.” Mr Hussain, his wife Kubra and their six children converted to Anglicanism. Mr Hussain, who had to give up his job as a nurse because of the stress of the campaign, has said the family will have to move to a different area to escape the intimidation. Wilson Chowdhry, from the British Pakistani Christian Association, said that “apostasy crime” – committed against Muslims who convert to Christianity – needed to be more widely recognised in Britain. Det Insp Andy Howard, of Bradford District CID, said initial investigations suggested the incident was a targeted attack and it is being treated as a religious hate crime.