"It's a bit of a stretch to go immediately from "I don't agree with your irrational beliefs" to "we think you are having a psychotic episode"" Not really, just because he shares an belief with lots of other people doesn't mean he isn't a danger to himself. If I go to someone and he tells me that the voices in his head are telling him to die, then he is ill. If he is hallucinating then he is ill. Likewise if 'God' tells someone to kill themselves how is that *not* mental illness in the same way that if the Flying Spaghetti Monster telling someone to kill themselves is mental illness. Or the woman off the telly telling them to go out and kill people. Like most things in life, it's a continuum. We accept refusing blood products for religious reasons, but not suicide for the same reason. Or we accept the cultural practice of circumcision but not the similarly cultural female genital mutilation. It's part of my job to make decisions based on where I think people rest on that line. Sometimes it gets awkward, but I tend towards not leaving people at home to die. As for involving the police being a threat? Not really anything to do with me, and as you mention earlier not all Muslims think the same... Besides I was telling the truth and if you can think of a better way to deal with the situation in the future please let me know.