EQUALITY & DIVERSITY OFFICER

HOLOCAUST HORRORS INSPIRE CHILDREN TO POETRY

2012-01-30T09:48:00.001Z

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Holocaust horrors inspire children to poetry

Children paid tribute to victims of genocide at a memorial event.

Speak Up, Speak Out, took place at the University of Leicester on Saturday to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, which took place on Friday.

Young people spoke about school trips to Auschwitz, before the launch of an anthology of poems about hatred and genocide, written by pupils in Leicester.

Manjula Sood, chairman of Leicester Council of Faiths and assistant mayor of Leicester City Council, said: "It is important to remember the lessons from history from the holocaust and other forms of genocide which have taken place since.

"Pupils from schools across Leicester have been taking part in work looking at tackling all kinds of hatred and discrimination, which is an especially important message in a multicultural city such as Leicester."

The event was run by Leicester City Council, Leicester Council of Faiths, the School Development Support Agency and the university's Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust Studies.

For more information on Holocaust Memorial Day visit: www.hmd.org.uk

THIS WEEK'S VISITORS (2,384)

2012-01-27T23:49:00.017Z

Regular update on the number of pageviews received from different parts of the world in the week just ending.

United States 1,064
United Kingdom 801
Germany 240
Russia 83
Japan 54
France 49
India 40
Ukraine 29
Ireland 12
Netherlands 12

This week's total: 2,384 (last week: 1,289). These are aggregates of figures from the top ten countries only. Blogger's stats software doesn't show me numbers of pageviews below the tenth-ranking country.

The world map at the top of this post is the graphic that I see on the stats page. The darker the green, the more pageviews from that country. I can see different versions of that map for "now" (i.e. in the last two hours), "today", "this week", "this month" and "all time" (which seems to mean the last 12 months). They're updated each time I look at them.

DEATH OF KING AND MARTYR REMEMBERED

2012-01-27T10:18:00.018Z

This letter is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Death of king and martyr remembered

At noon tomorrow, there is to be a service at the Church of St Mary de Castro, Castle Street, Leicester, commemorating the death of Charles, King and Martyr.

This is very appropriate in view of the part played by Leicester in the English Civil War and the Siege of Leicester in May 1645, when King Charles I was present.

Refreshments, a display and, hopefully, members in uniform from the Civil War re-enactment societies, will follow. All are welcome.Leaflets will be available at the service describing why King Charles is described as a martyr, a controversial subject.

The Church of St Mary de Castro was close to the scenes of the main action and indeed, the south wall of the churchyard is, to this day, still loop-holed in preparation for a last-ditch stand by the defending garrison and townspeople of Leicester.

There is also a mass grave of the defenders close to the churchyard.King Charles was offered his life by Parliament if he would abandon Episcopacy, the governance of the Church of England by the Bishops, which we still have today; but this would have removed the church from being part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, which we still say in the Creed and would have made the church into a sect.On this point, Charles stood firm and for this he died.

I can be contacted on 0116 271 6086 for any queries on leaflets and I hope as many as possible will attend this historic service.

Chris Stephens, Oadby

VOLUNTEER IS MADE MBE FOR CITY WORK

2012-01-27T09:45:00.016Z

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Volunteer is made MBE for city work

A community leader was presented with an MBE by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace yesterday.

Hashim Duale, 44, a hard-working volunteer and member of the Somali community on Leicester's St Matthew's estate, was recognised for his work to promote harmonious relations between the city's different communities.

Mr Duale was one of hundreds of thousands of Somalis who left his country during the war and famine of the 1990s.

He said: "There were 43 of us receiving honours and we went up to collect them and had a chat with the Prince, and then he shook our hands to signal the conversation was over and we stepped back.

"I think my conversation was one of the longest because he was very interested in the situation in Somalia.

"He was saddened by the fact people are still dying and there's still war going on. He clearly knew a lot about it.

Mr Duale was accompanied on his trip to the capital by his family.

He said: "I took my children aged seven, 10 and 11 along, as well as my wife. My children were hoping to see the Queen. They were very well behaved."

Mr Duale's volunteer work is aimed at integrating the Somali community in Leicester. He serves on advisory panels for both the Bishop of Leicester and the police.

He is also involved with the Federation of Muslim Organisations in Leicester, and the Muslim Burial Council of Leicestershire.

Hashim was a member of Leicester Council of Faiths when I took up my post in the summer of 2007.

BURNS NIGHT

2012-01-25T18:00:00.005Z

Today, 25 January, is the 253rd anniversary of the birth of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns. Here in Leicester, as in innumerable places all over the world, people of all sorts (many of whom have never set foot in Scotland) will be celebrating Burns Night.

I've never been to a Burns Supper. But then, as a teetotal vegetarian who can't stomach neeps (as turnips are called for this purpose), I might be considered a bit picky over the fare on offer. And I've never worn a kilt; in fact the only way you've ever get me into a kilt is if I'm buried in one. But even though I've never bought into the memorabilia and paraphernalia that surround Robert Burns, still his poetry and songs hit home with me, for q variety of reasons. Back in 1979, when I was just 19, the Bahá'ís whom I first got to know in Glasgow often spoke about the perceived connection between the unity and solidarity of the whole human race that is expressed in Burns's poetry and the same core teaching of the Bahá'í Faith. Of course, all sorts of people and ideologies - religious, political, secular, social and more - claim ownership of Burns, or have hitched their waggon to his star, but I'd like to think that this instance was (and continues to be) more honest, insightful and sincere. It certainly worked for me and got me to appreciate and understand Burns in ways I never had before ... and it gave a route into the Bahá'í Faith that still illustrates its appeal and relevance to Scots.

Burns's universalism (which is, of course, but one facet of his writing) took on particular and personal significance for me when I was working on a book about 'Abdu'l-Bahá's 1913 visit to Edinburgh. The Seven Candles of Unity (1991) by Anjam Khursheed, acknowledges the resonance that Scots Bahá'ís feel with the spirit of Robert Burns. In that context, the book quotes his well-known words which foretell the inevitable overturning of prejudice and tyranny and the coming together of all the world's peoples:

Then let us pray that come it may,

As come it will for a' that

That Sense and Worth o'er a' the earth

Shall bear the gree an' a' that,

For a' that an' a' that,

It's comin' yet for a' that,

That man to man, the world o'er

Shall brithers be for a' that.

Perhaps the single most significant occasion on which this connection with the legacy of Robert Burns was demonstrated was when Carrie Varjavandi, a member of the Dundee Baha'i community was invited to address the Scottish Parliament during its weekly short Time for Reflection session on 18 January 2006. Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, George Reid MSP (in photo above with Carrie Varjavandi), made a direct connection between the fundamental principles of the Bahá'í Faith and the words of Robert Burns:

The Bahá'í belief in the unity of mankind matches our commitment to build an inclusive society in Scotland. It recalls the words of Robert Burns [which were quoted] at the Opening of the Parliament in 1999: "That man to man, the world o'er, Shall brithers be for a' that."

Find out everything you wanted to know about Robert Burns (but were afraid to ask) on the Guardian Edinburgh website.

CREATIVECOFFEE CLUB

2012-01-25T14:22:00.007Z

At Phoenix Square Film and Digital Media Centre this morning for CreativeCoffee Club. Another good turnout, with just as many, maybe more, as at the last session a fortnight ago (at least two dozen people today - including, for the first time, a babe in arms). A very positive feeling about the session today, a palpable buzz in the air - and that's not just thanks to the caffeine!

Patrick Welsh (Marketing Manager at Phoenix Square) and I have an interesting discussion about "ownership" of CreativeCoffee Club. What's the relationship between CreativeCoffee Club and Phoenix Square? Is this a loose, informal group of people who met for a while at DMU Graduate Bar, currently meet at Phoenix Square and at some time in the future might meet somewhere else? Is CreativeCoffee Club an integral part of Phoenix Square's programme? Who runs it? Who makes it work? What can be done to make it work better?

We don't reach any conclusion about this, but it's an interesting question to ask, with obvious implications for promotion and publicity, retaining the existing membership (if it can be said to have such a thing) and bring in new people. Take, for instance, blogging. At the moment, that's only done here, by me, attached to the Council of Faiths website. So it reflects my interest and involvement - and that of the organisation for which I work. But there's more to Creative Coffee Club than just what I see in it and what I get out of it. Should it have a blog of its own? If so, who would do that? Can it be done collectively?

One veteran of CreativeCoffee Club (and of the late, lamented - by me, at least - Amplified Leicester) tells me that this shouldn't be thought of as a networking event any more; that we might as well be meeting in the pub. My response to that is that if we were meeting down the pub at 10 o'clock on a Wednesday morning, then it would say something very different about us as a group! My feelings are that CreativeCoffee Club is that it's loose, relaxed and low-key (which, for some people, can mean it's frustratingly baggy, shapeless and unmanageable) and that it doesn't work to try and mould it into some other shape followed by other groups and meetings of which we might have experience or knowledge. There are other networking events happening in and around Leicester - and some of us take part in those too. If CreativeCoffee Club is a square peg, it can't be battered into a round hole.

Since I keep telling anyone who's interested (and plenty who're not) that I'm the longest-serving member of CreativeCoffee Club (having been here since the second-ever meeting at DMU in the autumn of 2007) I think I'm entitled to take the long view. Some folk questioned why I was coming to CreativeCoffee Club at all (including some of my employers), but from my point of view it's paid off, in spades. I don't have a product to promote, or a service of the kind that others have here. It's been a process of building credibility, trust, even friendship - that others attending see my open hand, understand my agenda (and don't think there's a hidden one). In the context of attending and supporting CreativeCoffee Club at Phoenix Square, that paid off for me (and for Leicester Council of Faiths) with the Faiths Film Festival during Inter Faith Week 2011. Getting that put on was the perfect example of pushing at an open door. Phoenix Square even went the extra mile by having one of our banners on display for a whole month leading up to that event and for the week of the festival itself.

I have an interesting chat about social media with one chap, here for the first time today, which reflects on the nature and purpose of CreativeCoffee Club itself. Twitter, for example, could be said to be dynamic, non-hierarchical, to evade standard ideas about management and ownership. Get the picture, faithful reader?

Listed below are some of today's attendees. These are live links; click on them to go straight through to the relevant website or Twitter account.

Bipin Anand touchRainbow Productions @touchRainbow
Kim Campion The Alternative @AlternativeKim
Craig Clarke @Beatroot
Doug Cubin GIS Coordinated Ltd @gisco
Ian Davies Leicester People's Photographic Gallery @IanDai
Shell Edwards Make-Up Artistry @_makeupartistry
Emma Fay Emma Fay Make-up & Concept Artist @EmmaFayMua
Cheryl Gill LCB Depot @lcbdepot
Dave Johnson Silverleaf Studio @Silver_DJ78
Toby Jones The Awesome Consultancy @awesomeforhire
Olga Kras OK-CreArt @OlgaKrasCreart
Cheryl Leadbetter Povric @PovricByCherylL
Trevor Locke Artsin Productions @ARTSIN
Ben Ravilious Ultimateweb Ltd @benrav
Farhana Shaikh The Asian Writer @farhanashaikh
David Sinclair Sinvision @sinvision
Edd Smith Purple Claw @purple_claw
Jed Spittle Manic Music Productions @manicmusic
Mohan Subra Subra Designs

PLENTY TO LEARN FROM SCOTLAND'S GREATEST POET

2012-01-25T10:32:00.005Z

This is Fr Gregory Murphy's First Person column, published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Plenty to learn from Scotland's greatest poet

Fr Gregory Murphy considers Robert Burns, Devolution and the cause of Christian unity

The season of Christmas, in the calendar of the Church, continues until the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, or Candlemas, on February 2. It provides a useful excuse if, like myself, you've been a bit tardy with the Christmas cards.

There are some secular feasts as well: especially, if you're Scots, or have Scottish connections, Burns night suppers around January 25.

Robert Burns, the ploughman poet from Ayrshire, rose from humble origins to be feted by the literary society of the late Scottish Enlightenment.

Burns was – on the evidence of his writings – a pretty level-headed character, happy to accept the fame (and the money) while keeping his feet on the ground ("A man's a man, for a' that").

As someone who enjoyed wine, women and song ("'Gae bring to me a pint o' wine") he had a certain reputation in Presbyterian Scotland, though this did not inhibit his secular success – his love songs were quickly set to music, and their popularity endured well beyond Burns' lifetime.

Though a Scots patriot he was happy enough to take the King's shilling, working as a customs officer in a time of chancy employment ("The Deil's awa wi' th'Excisemen") so it's likely that, as most Scots from his time onwards, he'd have looked at the question of devolution with an eye to the main chance.

Growing up in a Presbyterian background his roistering would have attracted negative comment, and he in turn was critical of religious hypocrisy ("Holy Willie's Prayer").

One of his works echoed the age-old question of the Delphic Oracle – know yourself – "O would some power the giftie gie us/tae see oursel's as ithers see us!"

That plea takes on a deeper resonance during this week of prayer for Christian unity.

We are all liable to the gospel critique of being hypersensitive to the splinter in our brother's eye while being oblivious to the beam in our own.

The mutual increase in knowledge and tolerance of other Christian traditions is, I would argue, evidence of the working of the Spirit in our own times.

The great Dominican theologian and ecumenist, Yves Congar, whose work bore fruit in the Second Vatican Council, used to say that each of the main divisions of Christianity emphasised a particular aspect of Christianity which it was their privilege to share with the others: from the Orthodox churches, the sense of life in the Spirit; from the Catholic Church, the presence of the Lord in his sacraments; and from the churches of the Reformation the presence of the Lord in his Word.

Let's pray that we can become mutually enriched by drinking from each other's wells.

Fr Gregory Murphy, OP, is a Dominican priest at Holy Cross Priory, in Leicester

INDEPENDENT ADVISORY GROUP MEETS TO DISCUSS EDL DEMO

2012-01-24T16:09:00.102Z

In Leicester Town Hall this afternoon, where Leicester City Council has called a meeting of the Independent Advisory Group to discuss the proposed demonstration by the English Defence League (EDL) and counter-demonstration by Unite Against Fascism (UAF) in Leicester city centre on Saturday 4 February.

This meeting, which takes place in the Council Chamber, includes much the same dramatis personae who attended the meeting last Thursday in the Mayor’s office at New Walk Centre: City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, and Leicester City BCU Commander Chief Superintendent Rob Nixon are out front. Dotted around the chamber are Deputy Mayor, Cllr Rory Palmer, Deputy Mayor; Assistant Mayor and Joint Cabinet Lead for Community Cohesion, Cllr Sarah Russell; Assistant Mayor and joint Cabinet Lead for Community Cohesion (and Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths), Cllr Manjula Sood; several City Council officers; and representatives of VCS organisations and other stakeholders, such as:

The meeting has been called so that the Mayor and Police can give us a position statement: to tell us where we are now and what's in the pipeline over the next few days. In the spirit of open sharing and transparency, our part is to be critical friends. The meeting is conducted under the Chatham House Rule.

All leave and rest days have been cancelled for Leicestershire Police officers on Saturday 4 February. Rob Nixon assures us that all neighbourhood officers will be on their usual beats that day and that no one will be extracted to work in the city centre. For the first time, we discuss how the situation is being addressed in the county, not just the city.

Iconic buildings and sites throughout city and county have been identified by the authorities and special efforts will be made to ensure their security.

Older people throughout the city feel threatened by the impending event. Police and City Council are doing their best to counteract that feeling and are making visits to day centres, care facilities and nursing homes to reassure residents, staff and volunteers. Age UK in Humberstone Gate was closed on the day of the last demonstration and counter-demonstration. This made those older people who depend on Age UK for regular services feel vulnerable. And, of course, the most notable act of destruction during the social disturbances in the summer was the torching of Age UK's minibus, which doesn't help them feel any safer this time round.

The Tigers are playing at home that day against Newcastle Falcons, with 18,000 fans expected to turn out for the match. Police are in discussions with the Tigers about shifting the kick-off time from 1500.

Not for the first time, we recognise the importance of keeping the heart of the city beating on the day. Last time, the city centre was locked down for 24 hours, starting 1800 the evening before. Videos posted on YouTube show the city centre deserted save for those involved in the demonstration and counter-demonstration, which gives the whole event a surreal and uncanny appearance. We don't want that to be the image of Leicester that stays in people's minds. Friday 3 February is the first night of Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival. People should be able to enjoy themselves without worrying about what might happen the next day.

There will be another meeting of the Independent Advisory Group next week, when more details will be known about what's expected to happen on the day.

After the meeting, I talk with Urban Canon Barry Naylor about the vigil to be held in Leicester Cathedral on the Friday evening immediately before the day of the demonstrations. It sounds like it's set to be a genuinely inter-faith event, I'm glad to say. I offer my services to help out in any way I can.

SHOWING WHAT MAKES A SOCIETY DYSFUNCTIONAL

2012-01-24T10:40:00.001Z

This is Lee Turnpenny's First Person column, published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Showing what makes a society dysfunctional

Lee Turnpenny thinks we should pay more heed to the research of the Equality Trust

A while ago I attended a talk by Richard Wilkinson, co-author (with Kate Pickett) of The Spirit Level. Through accessible presentation and explanation of data, this book reveals that the dysfunctionality of a society is determined not by its average income level relative to other societies, but by the extent of income inequality within – that is, the breadth of the gap between its rich and poor.

Since the book was published in 2009, the busting of capitalism's flush brings no alleviation to this sorry state of affairs. Cuts and job losses disproportionately affect those at the lower end of the income scale, while those responsible still reap perversely massive bonus pay-outs.

The backlash is under way in the form of peaceful "Occupy" protests in various countries. And it is good to see. But as ever, there is the inevitable right-wing attempt to undermine and discredit the research. Not unlike those – often political – movements that expend time and cash muddying clear scientific waters around climate change or evolution, right-wing free market ideologues pour scorn on the findings of Wilkinson and Pickett, stoking controversy, and positing their own counter-"data" in books such as The Spirit Level Delusion.

Anyway, don't take my word for it. However, I was interested to discover an Early Day Motion (EDM) on this issue tabled last year by Caroline Lucas (leader of the Green Party and its sole MP). EDMs are a parliament facility for MPs to bring all manner of matters to the attention of the House (often seemingly for no other reason than that they can). EDM 1775, entitled "Income Inequality", states:"That this House notes the findings of the Equality Trust that societies with smaller income differences between rich and poor have fewer health and social problems, such as teenage births, violence, mental illness and drug abuse; further notes that such societies have higher levels of trust between citizens and more social mobility; and therefore encourages the Government to promote policies that reduce income inequality."

Well, I knocked off a letter to my MP, in order to persuade that consideration of a signature on this would be worthwhile.

Unsuccessfully, as it turns out. EDMs receive varying attention from MPs, so absence of signatures cannot reliably indicate where your MP actually is on an issue. However, I recommend taking a look at EDM 1775, and seeing whether there is anything that strikes you as, err... under-represented? Or would that be a presupposition?

It is also worth visiting The Equality Trust site, where, if you feel strongly on this, a facility for contacting your own MP is provided.

Lee Turnpenny blogs on science at: http://blogs.nature.com/u71147cba/

IS IT TIME FOR A NEW PROPHET?

2012-01-23T11:40:00.000Z

This letter is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Is it time for a new prophet?

I have this evening been reading the Mercury and was startled to read another letter about astrology (Mailbox, January 16). But why not, I suppose?

Many years ago, in about 1974 or a little earlier, the Mercury published a letter which has always stuck in my memory since. A reader who could see the future said a man in the East had started on his destiny and would change the whole world.

I was sceptical but now wonder whether she was referring to the then unknown Mikhail Gorbachev. Nobody knew him then.

Catholic saints and mystics have often been able to see events long before they happen.

They don't want this gift and run away from it and from the crowds coming to see them. I don't know that Eastern churches – basically same as Catholics – have such mystics and saints. I should think they would.

After 38 years, it is high time for the Leicester Mercury to give us another letter from a seer or God-fixated person.

D Healy, Wigston

HAPPY NEW YEAR! CROWDS ENJOY CHINESE CELEBRATIONS IN LEICESTER

2012-01-23T11:02:00.007Z

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Happy new year! Crowds enjoy Chinese celebrations in Leicester

The Chinese Year of the Dragon was welcomed to the city in style as hundreds of people watched a colourful dance display at Leicester market.

Music and martial arts displays kept shoppers entertained on Saturday as people gathered to take part in Leicester's Chinese New Year celebrations.

The new year officially begins today and marks the end of the winter season.

Spectators watched a traditional dragon dance, which was followed by kung fu demonstrations by members of the International Taijiquan and Shaolin Wushu Association (ITSWA).

Chinese student rock band Penalty Notice also performed.

Paul Ng, chairman of the Leicester Chinese Community Centre (LCCC), which organised the event, said: "We want to celebrate the new year and try to bring awareness of our culture to the people of Leicester at the same time.

"The event has been very well received and there have been lot of people coming along and watching the kung fu demonstrations and listening to the music – it has been a big success."

Shopper Caroline Harding, 43, was watching the martial arts show.

She said: "It's not the most common thing to see at the market, but it's really interesting. It's good to learn things about other cultures – and to see people celebrating the Chinese New Year."

It is thought there are more than 1,000 Chinese people in the city and about 4,000 in the county.

The LCCC was set up in about 1979 and is based at the junction of the Burleys flyover and Belgrave Gate.

YEAR OF THE DRAGON

2012-01-21T14:07:00.020Z

Leicester Chinese Community Centre publicly celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Dragon at Market Corner in the city centre this afternoon. A lion dance and Chinese music performances are just two aspects of the afternoon for visitors to enjoy, as well as calligraphy and origami workshops. In the photo, a ladies' group are putting on a Tai Chi demonstration.

OUR UNITED CITY WON'T SUBMIT TO PROVOCATION

2012-01-21T11:37:00.002Z

This is the Bishop of Leicester's First Person column in today's Leicester Mercury:

Our united city won't submit to provocation

The Bishop of Leicester considers the city's response to the English Defence League's visit

There will be many in our city who dread the prospect of another visit by the English Defence League (EDL) on February 4. It is less than two years since the last visit and already community leaders, the police, the city council and many others are having to give detailed time and attention to ensuring the safety of the city and of its citizens.

I have no doubt that once again we shall rise to this challenge. We can use it as an opportunity to demonstrate that we will not be provoked into aggressive responses. And we will not allow this kind of agitation to create divisions and tensions between the communities of our city.

On the last occasion that the EDL came to town, it provoked a celebration of the common values which we hold and enabled the whole city to demonstrate the carefully developed and trusting relationships between community leaders which have been a feature of Leicester life for many years.

Before the last visit of the EDL, the Cathedral became a gathering place for people of different faiths to stand in silent reflection together, demonstrating vividly how precious the rich religious diversity of our city has been.

So how should we prepare for a repeat of this unwelcome visit?

First I believe we have every reason to have confidence in the authorities, especially the police, who take meticulous care to prepare for these occasions and who put a great deal of effort into ensuring that communication is effective and as widespread as possible.

Second, I expect that faith leaders and other community leaders will be working together once again to reassure people and to demonstrate that the values we hold in common go deeper than any divisions between us.

I have no doubt that the Cathedral will once again offer hospitality for the kind of silent vigil we saw last time.

Thirdly, I would expect that the people of the city will demonstrate the kind of dignified restraint that was shown last time.

What demonstrators and marchers most want is to provoke a reaction. But easily the most eloquent response is a dignified silence in the face of provocation.

Those who would undermine our common life here know that Leicester has a reputation for good community relations and this provides us with another opportunity to demonstrate that that reputation is well founded.

I hope, therefore, that this will turn out to be a good news story and that this newspaper will report it as such.

In the end these kind of occasions can reveal our better natures. It can shine a spotlight on that part of our character which builds reconciliation and friendship across divisions. We are good at that in Leicester and let us show it to the world once again.

THIS WEEK'S VISITORS (1,289)

2012-01-20T23:55:00.006Z

Regular update on the number of pageviews received from different parts of the world in the week just ending.

United Kingdom 675
United States 180
Ukraine 130
Russia 89
Germany 86
India 61
France 28
Saudi Arabia 18
Canada 11
Netherlands 11

This week's total: 1,289 (last week: 1,295). These are aggregates of figures from the top ten countries only. Blogger's stats software doesn't show me numbers of pageviews below the tenth-ranking country.

NHS STAFF INTERFAITH FORUM

2012-01-20T16:24:00.017Z

At the Chaplaincy Centre in George Hine House, the Towers, this afternoon, discussing preliminary arrangements for establishing an Interfaith Forum for Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust staff. I'm meeting with Abida Hussain (Equality and Human Rights Officer, Integrated Equality Service) and Sally Martin (Lead Chaplain).

Abida, Sally, staff and volunteers in the Pastoral and Spiritual Care Team will form the core membership of this group. We don't think that anything of this kind has been provided before. It’s not intended to be a "support group" in the sense that existing groups for BME staff, LGBT staff, or staff who are carers are.

It’s hoped that this can be a forum for seeking and giving advice, for consultation and discussion, for sharing good practice and sounding out new ideas.

It can be a forum in which the organisation can consult with staff on issues regarding religion or belief that impact on their work. Staff input is required to fulfil requirements of the Equality Delivery System recently adopted by Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.

It can also be a forum for sharing updates and information regarding relevant issues (e.g legislation and case studies). Chaplaincy staff and volunteers could be invited to attend and speak about their experiences.

We discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of different venues as well as other related topics, such as the possible role of social media in amplifying and extending the reach and influence of the forum.

The next stage is for Abida and me to attend a full meeting of the Multi-Faith Chaplaincy team on Wednesday 22 February at which this will be discussed further and brought closer to implementation.

DON'T DANCE TO THIS PIED PIPER'S TUNE

2012-01-20T10:51:00.013Z

This is Suleman Nagdi's First Person column, in today's Leicester Mercury:

Don't dance to this Pied Piper's tune

Suleman Nagdi says that public order is the priority if the EDL visit the city

On Saturday, February 4, the English Defence League (EDL) is visiting Leicester once again. As with last time in 2010, the EDL is doing its utmost to play the role of the Pied Piper. It is up to all of us to firmly press our hands to our ears and drown out the confrontational noises sounded by them.

We are all blessed to live in this great society in the United Kingdom where we are free to speak and assemble as is our right to do so.

We all have differing views across society on a wide range of issues and so long as these views are voiced in a lawful manner then we must respect the fact that every individual has a right to their own opinion.

When public disorder ensues due to the views and actions of some in society who invite aggressive confrontation then it is clear that this is unacceptable and must not be tolerated by the general public.

In this time of economic uncertainty when the population is overwhelmed by issues such as rising costs of living and a distressed employment market, the potential of public disorder is a most unwelcome prospect.

On the EDL's last visit to Leicester, there were several criminal incidents which came at a most massive inconvenience and cost to the taxpayer, such as the smashing up of shop windows and physical skirmishes.

Those who were present at the time of these horrifying incidents will no doubt have been terrified at witnessing such behaviour.

Then there is also the serious issue of how the police are inconvenienced by having to manage the visit of the EDL. The last time the EDL came to visit Leicester it cost Leicestershire Constabulary and the council £850,000 to cover the event and the Unite Against Fascism counter protest. At a time of public sector funding cuts, this places a substantial strain on the police's resources. By having so many police officers patrolling the event on the day it will mean that there will be fewer officers to assist members of the public on matters of everyday concern. The time spent in the lead-up to the event as well as in investigations afterwards will be valuable police time that will have to be diverted from other areas of work.

In these times of record unemployment, it is important to emphasise how getting a job is difficult enough as it is anyway without having a public order offence on one's record. We must collectively persuade people to stay away from events that could potentially lead to public disorder. We must do all we can to assist the police in any way we can to ensure that the threat to public order is kept to an absolute minimum.

The Pied Piper is playing his tune to a deafening cacophony at the moment. It is imperative for us collectively to not get drowned.

Suleman Nagdi is spokesman for the Federation of Muslim Organisations

CITY MAYOR BRIEFS VCS ORGANISATIONS ON EDL DEMO

2012-01-19T14:06:00.138Z

At a meeting this morning called by the City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, to brief Voluntary and Community Sector organisations in Leicester about the proposed demonstration by the English Defence League (and proposed counter-demonstration by Unite Against Fascism) in Leicester city centre on Saturday 4 February.

The meeting takes place in the Mayor’s office, floor B7 of the City Council’s New Walk Centre. As well as Sir Peter, the meeting is attended by Cllr Rory Palmer, Deputy Mayor; Cllr Sarah Russell, Assistant Mayor and Joint Cabinet Lead for Community Cohesion; Cllr Manjula Sood, Assistant Mayor and joint Cabinet Lead for Community Cohesion (and Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths); a number of officers of the City Council; and Leicester City BCU Commander Chief Superintendent Rob Nixon.

Around the table are gathered representatives of several VCS organisations, each with a perceived interest in the events of Saturday 4 February and in preparations beforehand:

The Mayor tells us that he and his team – and the Police - are keen to understand the concerns of the community and assures us of their willingness to be open and transparent regarding the range of responses available to them.

If there is a common denominator among those present today, it’s the hope that the EDL come, do their thing, then leave with the minimum impact on the city that day - and on how our communities live and work together, before and after. Well, actually, not everyone can be said to agree on that as there’s a strong voice asking how it is that the EDL can be allowed to come, given what happened last time. Chief Superintendent Rob Nixon reminds us that the Police are required to ensure the safety and security of everyone involved in these events, no matter what side of the line they may be on.

Similarly, divergent views are expressed on whether the EDL are an assemblage of the most cunning criminal minds of their generation or nothing more than a bunch of beer-fuelled thugs. We acknowledge and discuss the relevance and significance of the Rhea Page assault case, which has been seized on by EDL as a pretext for coming back here.

In the end, we can all acknowledge that there's no single, straightforward, formulaic or generic answer to this dilemma that will work for every individual or for all communities. There's no simple way around this - we just have to get through it together. Reminiscent, then, of Michael Rosen's profound and subtle children's story, We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Anyone who knows the story should get its relevance in this context.

Much has been learned from the last time we dealt with such events, in October 2010. On the one hand, activities will be laid on in different parts of the city (particularly for young people) to keep people from coming into the city centre on the day. On the other hand, it's not being assumed this time that the best thing to do is to try and shut down the city centre for the duration of the demonstration and counter-demonstration.

I don't normally single out my own contributions to meetings like this, but I'm making an exception this time. I speak three times, my contributions based on something that happened back in October 2010, something that has only recently occurred to me – and something that doesn’t seem to have occurred to anyone else.

Firstly, I propose that work needs to be done quickly and urgently with schools in and around the city – and not just to dissuade older students from coming into town on the day. This is based on something Harry told me the night before the last EDL demo. The kids were visiting me that weekend. When their mum dropped them off on the Friday evening, they could hardly wait to tell me that we have to stay out of town on Saturday afternoon, because something terrible was going to happen. When I asked what that might be, Harry told me that the word around school was that Muslims were going to set off a bomb in the city centre. He was indignant about this, to put it mildly. He told me that he was angry with his schoolmates for saying this, that he knew Muslims, that he knew I work with and for Muslims - and that they're good people, who wouldn't do such a thing ("Would they Dad?"). I really don’t want to have to hear that from my kids this time. Surely we can do something to counteract this kind of thing, whether it be simple misinformation or malicious rumour-mongering.

Secondly, I mention that this is starting to remind me of The Empire Strikes Back. Perhaps we’re being punished for being a bit too smug over how we handled it last time, a bit self-congratulatory, a bit too quick to pat ourselves on the back. What we might have done is more like making a rod for our own back. On the day following the EDL demo in October 2010, we had “Celebrate One Leicester Day” as a way of claiming back the city centre, of cleansing it even. On the stage that afternoon, Billy Bragg said that that weekend would be remembered as the time when the back of the EDL was broken, that Leicester would be remembered as the place where it happened and that we’d be remembered as the people who did it. Well, here we are, hardly 16 months later – and they’re coming back. You know how Star Wars (the original one, or Episode IV: A New Hope for you fanboys out there) ends with the big ceremony in which Princess Leia hangs medals on Luke, Han and Chewie, the droids are all shiny and tweety, our heroes exchange knowing lovey-dovey looks and everyone takes the applause of the grateful multitude. Then Darth Vader returns, wiser and badder (with the wickedest most spine-tingling theme tune in movie history), kicks the rebels’ collective butt and they only escape defeat in the final reel by the skin of their teeth.

Thirdly, some anxiety is expressed that, following the proposed demo next month, EDL might put down a marker for another run-in on St George's Day in April. I back up the importance and significance of that occasion and point out what a good job City Council has done in the past few years in appropriating the weekend of St George’s Day, filling it with multicultural, family-friendly activities and leaving no room for extremist groups to muscle in. I can only commend City Council for doing this and hope that the same will be done this year – and that all our groups will see fit to join in and support it. There’s testimony to the diversity of Leicester if ever it were needed – a Scot like me bigging up St George’s Day (and not just because I share his name).

WORLD RELIGION DAY

2012-01-15T17:21:00.016Z

Today (the third Sunday in January) is World Religion Day.

Established in 1950 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, World Religion Day has been increasingly taken up in other countries - at first by national and local Bahá'í communities in different parts of the world, although it has also become an event widely recognised and keenly celebrated by people of other faiths too. Its purpose is:

to bring together people of various faith communities
to celebrate the unifying power of religion
to promote inter faith understanding
to encourage religious leaders and adherents to acknowledge the similarities between their faiths and work together for the common good.

In the United States, 16 January is National Religious Freedom Day, officially proclaimed each year by an annual statement by the President of the United States. I can't say whether it's more than just a happy accident that these two dates are observed so close together, but hopefully, there's a mutual reinforcement of the positive message of the unifying power of religion, that it can illumine hearts and minds with its own positive light.

There's no celebration of World Religion Day in Leicester today - again. I'm sorry to be saying that for the third year in a row. You'd think it'd be just the kind of thing Leicester would take to, wouldn't you, faithful reader? Bit of a no-brainer really - like other anniversaries, events and occasions that we could celebrate each year (but don't) such as Golden Rule Day, Week of Prayer for World Peace or any number of United Nations international days and observances. Even World Interfaith Harmony Week, established in 2010 by King Abdullah of Jordan.

We do manage to get it together for Inter Faith Week (est. 2009) and for Holocaust Memorial Day (est. 2001) of course, which shows what can be done when we put our collective shoulder to the wheel. At the age of 62, World Religion Day is the grand dame of such events. You'd think it would have had sufficient time to establish itself. How come it's so neglected?

I think that, in common with other occasions such as Golden Rule Day (for example) no one feels ownership of World Religion Day. Even though it was established by Bahá'ís, still it hasn't really gained a foothold in the Bahá'í community in the UK. Firstly, it was set up by Bahá'ís in the US and may be seen as more of an American thing. Secondly, perhaps its age is working against it. Maybe it's been around so long that it seems a bit tired now - as if it were trying to fight a battle that's now been won. After all, back in 1950 when World Religion Day was established, inter faith dialogue, encounter and relations was neither the everyday experience or the major concern that it is today.Thirdly -and, to my understanding, most importantly - it may be considered an extraneous bolt-on, hitching a ride on the Bahá'í calendar without properly being part of it. Bahá'ís are more essentially committed to the goals of World Religion Day than any other faith community (obviously, since they invented it) but maybe, where this occasion has been successful, Bahá'ís may have done too good a job in selling it to other agencies, communities, group or organisations to see it as still being something for which they hold greatest responsibility.

Take Holocaust Memorial Day, for example. While that has deliberately expanded its appeal in relation to other communities, faith-based or not, still it is the Jewish community that drives it forward more than any other.

Considering how exhausted I felt at the end of Inter Faith Week last year and how long it took me to get over it, maybe I shouldn't be thinking of another event that I can throw myself into, so soon. All the same: someone or other should get their act together for this event when it rolls round again next year. It's an open goal, isn't it? Custom-made for an organisation like ours, you'd think. I'm sure we could reap considerable reward without very much effort.

In the meantime, I wouldn't World Religion Day 2012 to pass unmarked, so here it is in the blog – again (although admittedly it’s a poor show that it should be a case of all words, no action – again).

There’s a good collection of tweets about World Religion Day, many of which show what's happening in other places around the world. Just search #worldreligionday. There's some very good stuff out there, including information about ways of celebrating World Religion Day that could easily be adapted here.

THIS WEEK'S VISITORS (1,295)

2012-01-13T23:33:00.001Z

Regular update on the number of pageviews received from different parts of the world in the week just ending.

United Kingdom 762
United States 234
Russia 110
India 54
Germany 50
Singapore 22
France 19
Canada 15
Pakistan 15
Australia 14

This week's total: 1,295 (last week: 1,208). These are aggregates of figures from the top ten countries only. Blogger's stats software doesn't show me numbers of pageviews below the tenth-ranking country.

BRADGATE UNIT

2012-01-13T16:50:00.029Z

At the Bradgate Unit, Glenfield Hospital, this afternoon for a meeting to promote the NHS Staff Multi-Faith Resource that we've helped produce for Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. I've come along with Abida Hussain, the Trust's Equalities and Human Rights Officer, as part of the ongoing process of introducing this resource to those members of staff most likely to use it.

We've booked to deliver induction to staff in five different wards, but it turns out that's a bit too ambitious. Our visits are timed to coincide with the handover of shifts, so we can get a quarter of an hour with incoming and outgoing staff. But a workplace like this is not always routine or predictable and (for reasons beyond our control) we're able to see staff on only three wards:

Ashby Ward
Aston Ward
Heather Ward

And to paraphrase Meat Loaf, "three out of five ain't bad". Abida also visited the Orchard Resource Centre in Hinckley earlier today to offer a brief induction session on her own.

EDL IN BID TO MARCH THROUGH LEICESTER CITY CENTRE

2012-01-13T10:21:00.022Z

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

EDL in bid to march through Leicester city centre

Its previous protest degenerated into violence as people within a cordoned-off area reserved for the EDL pelted police officers with bricks, bottles and coins.

A number of fireworks and smoke bombs were also thrown from the 1,000-strong EDL section, while some of its followers broke through police lines to engage in running battles with local youths and officers.

The operation cost police – who put 2,000 officers on to the streets – and Leicester City Council an estimated £850,000. Shops, particularly those in Humberstone Gate East, lost trade because they closed and boarded up their properties for the day.

The EDL formally notified city authorities on Wednesday of its wish to stage a march and rally.

Police and officials at Leicester City Council held an urgent meeting yesterday to consider their response.

They can apply to the Home Office for a ban on the march – as they did on the previous occasion – but cannot prevent a static protest.City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said he would be working closely with the police and community groups.

He said: "Our overriding aim is to ensure that the people of Leicester can go about their business safely. We will do everything we can to ensure that any demonstration passes off peacefully, with as little disruption to the life of the city as possible."

Martin Traynor, chief executive of Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce, said a repeat of the disorder would harm the city's image for shoppers.

He said: "We would urge the authorities, including the Home Office, to decline this application."

Suleman Nagdi, spokesman for the Leicestershire Federation of Muslim Organisations, described news of the group's decision to return to Leicester as "sad".

"Our door is always open and we would urge members of the EDL to reconsider their position and opt instead for dialogue with us," he said.

A police spokesman said senior officers were speaking to the group about its plans.

She said: "This isn't the first time Leicestershire police has had to deal with a large-scale demonstration.

"People know from past experience that we do have a commitment to make sure that our communities are well informed of developments."The scale of next month's protest was unclear yesterday.

Branches of the group in areas including Yorkshire, Berkshire, Greater Manchester and Nottingham have signalled their intention to take part.

A spokesman for Leicester Unite Against Fascism said it was monitoring developments and was ready to stage a counter protest, as it did in October 2010.

POLICING IN 2012 AND BEYOND

2012-01-12T21:46:00.014Z

To Leicester Town Hall early this evening for a public meeting with the Chair of Leicestershire Police Authority (Barrie Roper) and the Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police (Simon Cole). This is the first meeting in a series of four being held in different parts of the force area this month. The remaining meetings (all starting 1800) are:

Wednesday 25 January, Harborough District Council, Market Harborough
Monday 30 January, Rutland County Council, Oakham
Tuesday 31 January, Police HQ, St Johns, Enderby

More than 50 people are gathered in the Council Chamber for the meeting, which is facilitated by Ben Jackson from BBC Radio Leicester.

In general terms, these meetings are being held so that Leicesterhire Police can listen to the public's concerns about the service they provide in these challenging times and so that they can clarify priorities, limitations and pressures and communicate information about new arrangements for policing and governance. Specifically, the meeting addresses two main topics:

The budget for 2012-13, which will be set next month
The new post of elected Police and Crime Commissioner

Election of a Police and Crime Commissioner for each police force area in England and Wales outside London will be the most radical change to governance of police in living memory. All the necessary information about this (including qualifications and qualities required of those who are considering standing for election to this post) is available on the Home Office website. The key dates for this process are:

15 November: election covering whole force area takes place
22 November: newly elected Commissioner assumes duties. Leicestershire Police Authority legally abolished on this date

Leicestershire Police Authority is responsible for managing the transition. Members of the public shouldn't notice the handover.

There are three members of Leicester Council of Faiths present this evening: our Chair, Cllr Manjula Sood; Director Gursharan Kaur Thandi; and Cllr Rashmikan Joshi. All three ask questions from the floor, on topics as diverse as how the ongoing cuts are affecting the daily life of officers on the beat, how the police are addressing religiously motivated hate crime and use of Asian language media outlets to attract wider support for meetings like this. A member of Leicester's Pagan community also spoke about the vulnerability of smaller groups which may be more likely to feel isolated and vulnerable, contrasting the local scene (mostly positive) with the national scene (not so), referring to a number of horse mutilations that have taken place in Cornwall and Wales and have been blamed on "witches".

Chief Constable Simon Cole takes a moment to focus on Hate Crime, with special reference to Leicestershire Police's Stamp It Out! campaign. He tells us that there were 510 recorded Hate Crimes in the force area in 2010, a number which fell closer to 400 in 2011. He reassures us that, "If you commit a Hate Crime in Leicester, Leicestershire or Rutland, we will catch you."

I've been impressed by how Leicestershire Police use social media in their workaday operations. They host frequent webchats, have a well-received and regularly updated Facebook page with over 14,000 likes and a constant flow of interesting and helpful information via several Twitterfeeds. It's a lazy cliche, usually put about by people who don't use social media and don't understand it (and perhaps, are scared by it) that it's a means for spreading misinformation, rumour and panic. In my experience, Leicestershire Police use it to quell those very things and do the opposite: they use social media to keep the public informed and involved. This was particularly the case during the visit of the English Defence League to Leicester in October 2010 and during the one evening when Leicester was brushed by the wave of social disturbances that swept much of England last summer, It's fascinating to see how social media is used at this meeting this evening. Chief Constable Simon Cole presents Leicestershire Police's review of 2011 in a video posted on their YouTube channel. Support staff are tweeting live the headlines from the presentations, then the gist of the Q&A session. As well as disseminating information about what's going on in the meeting, this allows interested parties not present in the room to participate through following the content, tweeting their own comments and questions and retweeting to their own followers. The hashtag for tweets sent from and about this meeting is #chiefandchair. Tweets from this evening's meeting are readable via that hashtag and it will be good for the remaining three meetings too.

IT'S A MISTAKE TO SHOW RESPECT FOR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS

2012-01-12T11:18:00.002Z

This letter is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

It's a mistake to show respect for religious beliefs

The First Person column (Mercury, January 5) is mistaken in calling for respect for religious beliefs.

This is not a view shared by all secularists.

The aim of secularism is to separate Church and state, not give respect to beliefs that don't deserve it.

Giving respect to religious beliefs is a recipe for the relativism we already have too much of in Leicester, where children are divided into groups by the religion of their parents, and never allowed to decide for themselves.

The parents are then allowed/encouraged to impose any customs, or unfairness, however cruel or unjust, especially on girls, that their "good" book dictates.

Religion should be a personal choice, and remain in the personal lives of those who choose it, not imposed on society as a whole.

Pandering to the religious as the First Person column does, only encourages them in their delusions.

What is needed are universal human rights for everyone, and one law for all.

Lyn Hurst, member of Leicester Secular Society, writing in a personal capacity

IS THIS STAR OF DAVID SIGNIFICANT?

2012-01-11T17:39:00.013Z

I've seen this many a time and pondered its significance: the Star of David picked out in the brickwork on the side of a derelict shop building. This is at the corner of Hammercliffe Road and Forest Road, in Leicester's Northfields. Having passed it again today (twice) I thought it time to take a photo and post it here. I wonder if any reader can enlighten me. Is there a meaning behind this (for instance, indicating that the premises was a kosher shop), or is it merely a coincidence or artisan flourish that this design was incorporated into the wall?

OAKHAM HOUSE

2012-01-11T16:31:00.017Z

At Oakham House, Herongate Road, this afternoon to promote the NHS Staff Multi-Faith Resource that we've helped produce for Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust . I'm here with Abida Hussain, the Trust's Equalities and Human Rights Officer, as part of the ongoing process of introducing this resource to those members of staff most likely to use it.

Oakham House is for young people aged 11 to 18 years with psychiatric, emotional or behavioural problems or an eating disorder that cannot be treated through outpatient appointments. Oakham House is open seven days a week but many of the young people being treated there go home to their families or carers at weekends.

Abida visited two wards St Luke’s Hospital, Market Harborough, yesterday to offer a brief induction brief induction session on her own there.

CREATIVECOFFEE CLUB

2012-01-11T12:25:00.127Z

At Phoenix Square Film and Digital Media Centre this morning for the first CreativeCoffee Club of 2012. More than two dozen people are here today: twice as many as came to the last meeting in 2011.

Patrick Welsh (who was appointed Marketing Manager at Phoenix Square late last year) has taken charge in a vigorous (though not obtrusive) manner. By that, I mean he's offering free cake from the cafe bar. That wasn't put about beforehand, so it doesn't explain why we've got more here today. However, a few people tell me that they read my blog entry for the last meeting (Wed 14 December 2011) and that encouraged them to come (or, in more than one case) to come back.

Listed below are some of today's attendees. These are live links; click on them to go straight through to the relevant website or Twitter account.

Bipin Anand touchRainbow Productions @touchRainbow
Ian Davies Leicester People's Photographic Gallery @IanDai
Farid El-Jazouli Valve Sound @valve_sound
Anjala Farmah Strategic Secret @StrategicAngel
Emma Fay Emma Fay Make-up & Concept Artist @EmmaFayMua
Julia Hamer LCB Depot
Matt Hart Hart & Harvey Photography
Cheryl Leadbetter Povric @PovricByCherylL
Ross McMinn & Christine Cox Workspace 1 @Workspace1
Nick Osborne Nick Osborne Photography @OsbornePhotos
Michael Perridge Graphic Accelerator
Mark Seemann Synety @synety
Farhana Shaikh The Asian Writer @farhanashaikh
Edd Smith Purple Claw @purple_claw
Jed Spittle Manic Music Productions @manicmusic
Michael Tedstone Manike Music @manikemusic
Garry White garrywhite.co.uk @garrywhite_
Dean Williams The Art Wizard @theartwizard
Rosemary Winsor The House of Winsor @houseofwinsor

REDP CORE PARTNERS MEETING

2012-01-10T14:21:00.001Z

This morning we have the regular monthly meeting of REDP's Core Partners:

We meet, as usual, at Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living, which is the accountable body for this project. Our meetings are normally held in the office of LCIL's CEO. That's now Steve Cooper, since the long-serving Dee Martin retired at the end of November last year (see blog entry for 30 November 2011). When I go into the office, much to my surprise, there's Dee! After a moment of confusion on my part, she tells me that she's been coming in every so often, just to tie up some loose ends.

I haven't seen Dee since her retirement do, but I have to say, she's looking well for it. She looks years younger, in fact. Retirement is clearly good for her. Ah, “retirement” … that will be a thing of the past by time I'm ready for it, of course.

FESTIVE DECORATIONS BEING TAKEN DOWN

2012-01-09T11:28:00.005Z

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Festive decorations being taken down

The Christmas decorations in Leicester are being taken down and put away for another year.

City council workers have started removing hundreds of bulbs strung across the city's busiest shopping streets. Work is expected to be complete early this week.

The council has, however, kept a Christmas tree in Town Hall Square illuminated for members of Eastern Orthodox churches who celebrated Christmas at the weekend.

A council spokesman said: "The Christmas tree in Town Hall Square will remain illuminated until January 10 for Eastern rites."

He said Horsefair Street would be closed for a period today so decorations could be removed.

I took the photo at the top of Gallowtree Gate, early evening, Tuesday 11 January.

SHIA MUSLIMS IN RELIGIOUS PROCESSION TO MARK TRAGEDY

2012-01-09T11:07:00.002Z

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Shia Muslims in religious procession to mark tragedy

Hundreds of Shia Muslims took part in a religious procession yesterday to mark Muharram, the month of mourning.

Men, women and children wore black as a symbolic display of grief over the slaying of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, Imam Husayn, whose death is thought to be one of the most tragic events in Islamic history.

The procession set off from the Masjid-Al-Husayn Shia Muslim mosque near Uppingham Road, North Evington, with devotees carrying a banner which read "Husayn, The Defender of Human Rights".

Members of the Islamic group beat their chests to symbolise grief at the martyrdom of Imam Husayn. People also distributed leaflets and recited eulogies.

One of the organisers, Onali Ismail, said this year marked the 22nd anniversary of the event taking place in the city.

He said: "The Shias of the world have mourned and lamented the death of Imam Husayn year after year since the event of Karbala, over 1,300 years ago.

"They lament in their love for their imam but also to keep alive his message of always supporting the truth and never bowing down to falsehood."

CITIZENS' EYE 2012 PROGRAMME LAUNCH

2012-01-07T23:20:00.006Z

At The Crumblin' Cookie this evening, for a party launching Citizens' Eye's 2012 programme. Preparatons continue apace for their coverage of the Olympics and Paralympics later this year, that will see Leicester the biggest media hub outside London.

THIS WEEK'S VISITORS (1,208)

2012-01-06T23:32:00.022Z

Regular update on the number of pageviews received from different parts of the world in the week just ending.

United Kingdom 641
United States 164
Russia 156
Gemany 61
India 47
France 40
Ukraine 30
Canada 25
South Korea 16
Myanmar 8

This week's total: 1,208 (last week: 1,096). These are aggregates of figures from the top ten countries only. Blogger's stats software doesn't show me numbers of pageviews below the tenth-ranking country.

LEARNING ABOUT BENE ISRAEL

2012-01-05T22:11:00.026Z

This evening I attend an informal talk given by Leon Charikar, President of the Leicester Progressive Jewish Congregation, on the Jewish communities of Mumbai: the Bene Israel.

According to folklore there has been a Jewish Community in the rural Mararashtra for over 2000 years.

Where did they come from?
By what means did they arrive in the west of India?
How did they survive and maintain their identity?
Did they keep kosher, did they observe the festivals?
How did they dress and what work did they do?
How did they live and work alongside other religions and cultures around them?
What is their relationship to other Jews who came to other parts of India at different times?
What part did they play in the history and development of India?
How has their community fared in the modern world?

Leon's presentation considers these questions, sifts legend and myth from history and fact, and describes his own family connections to the Bene Israel. Before this evening, I knew little more than that this community existed; I learned a little bit when researching my presentation, "How Diverse is Leicester?" for An Indian Summer at Phoenix Square in June last year (see my blog entry for that occasion). I find the whole thing fascinating. The photo above is of the interior of a synagogue in Mumbai.

KNOWING AND RESPECTING THE BELIEFS OF OTHERS

2012-01-05T14:06:00.011Z

This is Allan Hayes's First Person column in today's Leicester Mercury:

Knowing and respecting the beliefs of others

Allan Hayes, of Leicester Secular Society, looks forward positively to 2012

The New Year looks hopeful for the improvement of relations between religions and beliefs. In the past year much more effort has been put into trying to understand one another, into working together and creating an idea of humanity that we can all share and contribute to – what Giles Fraser in this week's Sunday programme called a "big story". This does not mean that serious differences will not be discussed robustly and frankly – they must be – what it does mean is that they will be discussed more in a spirit of co-operation, contribution and accommodation rather than combat and confrontation.

At bottom it means that we will meet one another as people to be respected and listened to. I find that some of the people I now most look forward to meeting again are ones with beliefs different from mine – there is a deep pleasure in sharing humanity.

Here are some recent personal highlights:

A "Challenging RE!" day, with 200 secondary school pupils at Holy Trinity Church was a revelation – young people from a all backgrounds sharing views about what mattered to them; a visit to Gateway school organised by St Philip's Centre during which I was vigorously challenged about my beliefs by pupils; exchanges of views at the Leicestershire Interfaith Forum at County Hall; several events organised by Muslim groups; talking to St Philip's Christian-Muslim discussion group and their subsequent visit to the Secular Hall; the continuing and rewarding involvement with Christians Aware; a very pleasant visit to the Gujarat centre in Preston. Probably the most demanding work, but in many ways the most useful and rewarding, was the preparation of a display on humanism at the invitation of a local primary school.

Two books should be mentioned as looking for understanding and mutual benefit: the first one, out in a few weeks, Religion for Atheists, by Alain de Botton (himself an atheist), tells us that religions are good at some things to do with life and, rather cheekily, that atheists should steal from them. It goes some way to meeting my criticism that humanism needs to be more human – a view that came home to me very much in designing the humanist display referred to above.
The second one by the Vicar of the University Church, Oxford, Canon Brian Mountford is entitled Christian Atheist: it is very sympathetically dealt with in a Westminster Abbey sermon by the Rev Robert Reiss, Canon in Residence; it is of great interest to me as a trustee of the Sea of Faith Network, many members of which might accept the description "Christian Atheist".

Some people may find these developments disturbing. I suggest that they need not: for the more we know and respect one another as people the more we can respect one another's choices of belief. So, things are looking up – but do please think about the effect of faith schools.

PHILOSOPHY IN PUBS

2012-01-04T22:54:00.020Z

It's the first Wednesday of the month (first Wednesday of the year, even) and that means the regular meeting of Philosophy in Pubs (PIPS). Seventeen of us gather upstairs in the Crumblin' Cookie on the High Street. There were nine of us last month. Five of those attending this evening have come for the first time.

Our stimulus this evening is a quotation found on the website of the Holocaust Education Trust: "When we understand where prejudice leads, we can stop it in its tracks."

When I've been talking about PIPS with various people, they usually ask what it's about and how it goes. I've copied this from the national PIPS website; it says it very well:

"The PIP's are a group of like-minded people searching for philosophical stimulation in a relaxed atmosphere (i.e. pubs, bistros, coffee shops, bookstores & community centres). [...]

"Everyone has Philosophical thoughts and as a group we would like to hear yours - whoever you are, wherever you're from and whatever they may be!

"The enquiries are relaxed with groups large enough to enjoy a number of diverse opinions, yet small enough to allow each person time to put their views across. As a contributor you can schedule your own subjects for enquiry and debate. Alternatively, just turn up and listen to the thoughts of others.

"Respect for others and their opinions are a fundamental requirement of the group as it encourages people to put forward their views without fear of ridicule or intimidation.

"No academic or philosophical background is necessary, only a passion for enquiry. Just turn up and enjoy."

Check out the Facebook page for Philosophy in Pubs Leicester.

Follow the Crumblin' Cookie on Twitter: @Crumblin_Cookie

OCCUPY LEICESTER SET TO RE-ESTABLISH STREET CAMP IN CITY CENTRE

2012-01-03T10:46:00.002Z

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Occupy Leicester set to re-establish street camp in city centre

Anti-capitalist campaigners Occupy Leicester are set to re-establish a street camp in the city centre.

The plans were announced at a meeting attended by more than a dozen supporters in the city centre yesterday.

The protesters, some suffering chest infections after spending five weeks camped in front of the Highcross shopping centre, moved into empty offices above the disused Litten Tree pub, in High Street, the weekend before Christmas.

However, they were evicted following a court order granted to leaseholders Safe Computing Ltd at a hearing on Friday, December, 23.

The company said the protesters did not have permission to use the building and the offices were needed for new staff to be employed during 2012.

At the meeting at the Clock Tower yesterday, Occupy Leicester spokesman Isaac Cabon, a 19-year-old student, said the group needed to reorganise after suffering dissent among some supporters.He said: "We are definitely coming back before the end of January. But we are yet to decide where we will set up camp.

"Occupy Leicester has taken its knocks and has fallen, now it is time for us to get back up again.

"The infighting and clandestine power struggles that racked the occupation need to come to an end – when we are fighting a common cause and a common enemy we don't have the time or energy to be fighting among ourselves, especially when we are taking on an entity as large as the one we are."

Mr Cabon apologised for leaving equipment behind in the Safe Computing Ltd building.

He said members of the group would like to arrange a time to pick up their tents, sleeping bags and other equipment.

He said: "We would like to apologise to the company. We believed the offices had been empty for months and there was no chance of them being used in the near future.

"We did not know the computer company had plans to use them."

He said the decision to break up the street camp was taken because many of the protestors were suffering from chest infections after braving the cold for five weeks.

One of the supporters, 17-year-old college student Nicole Bambam Thompson, who attended the court hearing, said she suffered from a viral infection before Christmas from staying out under canvas.

She said: "We will be much better prepared than before. We will bring thermal clothing this time.

"It is important we set up camp again."

Fellow campaigner Mark Smith, 40, said: "I fully support setting up the camp again. I did not want to break it up in the first place.

"We need to keep a presence on the street so that people can see what we are protesting against.

"I am used to life on the streets."

FEAST OF HONOUR

2011-12-31T19:53:00.074Z

I spend the afternoon with the local Bahá'í friends, celebrating the Feast of Sharaf (Honour).

Due to my irregular work schedule, commitments to the children and so on, I'm unable to attend as many Bahá'í community activities as I should. This is the first time I've been able to come to two consecutive Feasts since goodness knows when!

I think it appropriate to provide a short extract from the Bahá'í writings here, relevant to the name and theme of this Feast and of the month in the Bahá'í calendar that it begins:

“The Almighty hath not created in man the claws and teeth of ferocious animals, nay rather hath the human form been fashioned and set with the most comely attributes and adorned with the most perfect virtues. The honour of this creation and the worthiness of this garment therefore require man to have love and affinity for his own kind, nay rather, to act towards all living creatures with justice and equity.” ('Abdu'l-Bahá)

Following the devotional section which comes at the start of every 19 Day Feast, there’s the opportunity to share news, discuss the present state of the community and make suggestions regarding future opportunities.

There's an interesting report from some of the friends who attended a recent conference in Watford sponsored by the Persian Society for Art and Letters, on the subject of Modernity. Many of the talks, panels and workshops held there were recorded, and we hope that those of us who didn’t go will soon be able to watch or listen to these.

I say a bit about the three community celebrations of Chanukah I've been able to attend this month and on the activities I was able to join in around Christmas, through supporting Harry singing with the choir at St Thomas the Apostle Parish Church.

We also discuss upcoming opportunities to get involved in an event for International Women's Day to be held at the University of Leicester on Thursday 8 March and to take part in an event (as yet ill-defined) being organised in Leicester by the Occupy movement on the weekend of Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 March. In connection with the latter, while we’d have to be assured of the political neutrality of any such event before committing a more formal Bahá'í involvement, there’s certainly a lot that Bahá'ís can say and do that would be relevant. One of the principles of Bahá'í life is that we must work toward eliminating extremes of wealth and poverty. Our belief in economic and social justice depend on that central factor in the Bahá'í programme. The Bahá'í Faith is no "pie-in-the-sky" religion that preaches we should accept our lot on earth for the sake of gaining reward in heaven. While it recognises that there's more to life than merely material well-being, it pulls no punches in stating that inequality and injustice are simply wrong, from whatever perspective we might take. This can be seen in the following statement, from a talk given in Paris by 'Abdu'l-Bahá a century ago:

A financier with colossal wealth should not exist whilst near him is a poor man in dire necessity. When we see poverty allowed to reach a condition of starvation it is a sure sign that somewhere we shall find tyranny. Men must bestir themselves in this matter, and no longer delay in altering conditions which bring the misery of grinding poverty to a very large number of the people. The rich must give of their abundance, they must soften their hearts and cultivate a compassionate intelligence, taking thought for those sad ones who are suffering from lack of the very necessities of life.

There must be special laws made, dealing with these extremes of riches and of want. The members of the Government should consider the laws of God when they are framing plans for the ruling of the people. The general rights of mankind mankind must be guarded and preserved.

The government of the countries should conform to the Divine Law which gives equal justice to all. This is the only way in which the deplorable superfluity of great wealth and miserable, demoralizing, degrading poverty can be abolished. Not until this is done will the Law of God be obeyed.

And this, from The Promise of World Peace, a statement by the Universal House of Justice "to the peoples of the world" made in 1984, coinciding with the United Nations International Year of Peace:

However vital a force religion has been in the history of mankind, and however dramatic the current resurgence of militant religious fanaticism, religion and religious institutions have, for many decades, been viewed by increasing numbers of people as irrelevant to the major concerns of the modern world. In its place they have turned either to the hedonistic pursuit of material satisfactions or to the following of man-made ideologies designed to rescue society from the evident evils under which it groans. All too many of these ideologies, alas, instead of embracing the concept of the oneness of mankind and promoting the increase of concord among different peoples, have tended to deify the state, to subordinate the rest of mankind to one nation, race or class, to attempt to suppress all discussion and interchange of ideas, or to callously abandon starving millions to the operations of a market system that all too clearly is aggravating the plight of the majority of mankind, while enabling small sections to live in a condition of affluence scarcely dreamed of by our forebears.

Now, of course Bahá'ís don't have the monopoly on caring about and acting on issues of social justice. Anyone with a working knowledge of the faith communities that flourish in Leicester will be able to come up with practices, principles and quotations aplenty from each of them in support of equity and fairness. Hopefully, that will make it easier to get a wide range of support and help make the contribution of the faith communities distinctive and unified. Both these upcoming opportunities are linked for Bahá'ís via another core principle of their beliefs: the equality of men and women. It’s become clear that women are bearing the brunt of austerity measures arising from the financial crisis. Working for the improved status of women and girls throughout the world can’t be divorced from the wider call for fairness in the management of the economy.

And if, for some legitimate reason, it’s not possible for the Bahá'í community to be formally involved in one or both of these events, there's nothing to stop individual Bahá'ís from taking part and bringing a Bahá'í sensibility to the table. Notes of our discussion are taken and will be passed on to the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Leicester for further consideration and a decision about the degree of involvement.

In the Bahá'í calendar, the day begins at sunset; the month of Sharaf (Honour), the start of which is celebrated with this Feast, begins at sunset on 30 December. When I was a young Bahá'í in Glasgow in the late 1970s and early 80s, we used to incorporate appropriate aspects of a traditional Scots celebration of Hogmanay into this Feast. I’ll leave it to you, faithful reader, to imagine which aspects they might have been. One of the things that makes the 19 Day Feast such a vibrant element of Bahá'í community life is its adaptability. The three-fold framework (devotional period, consultative period, social period) should always occur (in that order) and there’s guidance aplenty for how each of those sections should go and how they should relate to each other. But there’s also room for the Feast to breathe and expand, according to its national or cultural setting and the make-up of the community celebrating it. The Bahá'í community has always been awash with travellers’ tales of how the 19 Day Feast is celebrated variously in a rural Indian setting, among indigenous tribes people in North Africa or in an Inuit village above the Arctic Circle. But right from the start of my involvement in the Bahá'í community, I was with people who asked why that same variety shouldn’t be appreciated and encouraged here at home. It was things like holding the 19 Day Feast on Hogmanay, reading the poetry and singing the songs of Robert Burns at it and sharing black bun and ginger wine (that’s non-alcoholic of course) with friends of diverse origins and backgrounds that helped affirm my identity as a Bahá'í – indeed, as a Scottish Bahá'í. If truth be told, it was only by seeing those aspects of Scottishness through a Bahá'í lens that I learned how to love my own country and culture.

If you'd like to know more about the Bahá'í calendar and its pattern of Feasts and Holy Days, check out the excellent article on Wikipedia.

THIS WEEK'S VISITORS (1,096)

2011-12-30T23:53:00.000Z

Regular update on the number of pageviews received from different parts of the world in the week just ending.

United Kingdom 549
United States 255
Germany 87
France 57
India 49
Russia 37
Ukraine 21
Canada 17
Denmark 14
South Korea 10

This week's total: 1,096. I don't have a comparative figure for last week; I gave my faithful readers the week off for the Festive Season. These are aggregates of figures from the top ten countries only. Blogger's stats software doesn't show me numbers of pageviews below the tenth-ranking country.

CLEAR-UP BEGINS AFTER PROTESTERS MOVE OUT

2011-12-30T10:51:00.003Z

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Clear-up begins after protesters move out

The eviction order was made by Judge Alison Hampton who granted possession of the premises above the former Litten Tree pub, in High Street, in the city centre, to leaseholders Safe Computing Ltd.

The future of the Occupy Leicester protest could be decided at a meeting to be held on Monday.

Sandy Scott, managing director of Safe Computing Ltd, applied for the eviction order last Friday saying that the Occupy Leicester group "had no permission to be in the offices".

Occupy Leicester did not oppose the order which said they should be allowed to take their property and vowed they would comply with it.Mr Scott said the protesters left the offices on Christmas Eve within a 24 hour deadline of being served with the court notice to quit.

However, he said: "They left me a note apologising. It said: 'Sorry things got out of hand last night'.

He added: "There are tents, a dozen sleeping bags, toasters, bikes and other possessions which have been left behind. It will have to be tidied up before we can use the offices."

Under the terms of the court order, Safe Computing Ltd, which has now secured the property, must allow members of the group access to reclaim their property.

About 15 members of the group had moved in to the premises via an unlocked door two weeks ago.

Previously they had been camping in tents set up further along High Street but had moved indoors to avoid the cold and had hoped to hold seminars in the building.

Following the hearing, group spokesman Anthony Farrow, 22, an animation and design student at De Montfort University said Occupy Leicester would obey the court order.

But he said the outdoor protest would resume and continue into the New Year.

He added: "We do not apologise for what we did. The building was unlocked and we caused no damage."

The outdoor camp has not re-appeared since the eviction and a meeting is planned at the Clock Tower at 2pm on Monday.

Occupy Leicester supporter Faizah Horreyah posted a message on Facebook saying the meeting would discuss the group's future and "other things". Mr Farrow was unavailable to comment.

BIBLE, CULTURE AND IDENTITY

2011-12-29T10:15:00.004Z

This letter is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Bible, culture and identity

Allan Hayes, of the Leicester Secular Society, expresses his concern that Mr Cameron's speech about Christianity allegedly misrepresents the past and "shows no understanding of the present" (Mailbox, December 26).

He states that "it is all 'spin' in pursuance of a personal fantasy". He fears it might be to the detriment of those who "promote the shared values and sense of community".

He criticises the Church for opposing democracy, extension of voting rights, election of MPs of other faiths, introduction of state education, access of women to universities and birth control. He seeks reassurance from members of the Church that "we are being dealt with fairly" and "we can move on".

He objects to "a privileged" religion as promoter of values. He feels these should be based on "our common humanity". He criticises Mr Cameron for implying that only "Christianity will save us".

He claims we are not a Christian country, but a country "that belongs to all who live here".

And this is the problem. Many people living here do not regard it as such. I venture to suggest that this country belongs to all those who accept its culture.

VS Naipaul, the Nobel prize winning author (born in Trinidad to Indian Parents) said: "A person can't say, 'I want the country. I want the laws and the protection, but I want to live in my own way.' I think if a man picks himself up and comes to another country he must meet it halfway. If he does not, it's wrong."

A country can remain cohesive only if there is at least a residual sense of togetherness, in other words, patriotism.

Olympic Games are an outward sign of patriotism but sometimes it is sad to see that sports people do not sing the National Anthem when representing their country. Ethnicity is not a bar to this idea. It should be noted that Soviet Union and Yugoslavia were truly multicultural societies.

If one has a different view on multiculturalism one is immediately branded a racist so it thwarts reasoned discussion and results in discontent festering beneath the surface. That is counter productive. Mr Cameron's speech was marking the end of the 400th anniversary year for the King James Bible. He said he was not on a mission to convert the world. He said: "This book is important to understand the past and to shape the future of this country." He said that we should not be frightened to recognise this.

We should note that: Firstly it "permeates every aspect of our culture (a high point of the English language) and heritage from everyday phrases to our greatest works of literature, music and art". It is noteworthy that many references to the Bible, in literature, culture or music, are not understood by young people.

Secondly, the Bible has been a spur to action for people of faith throughout history in "politics, human rights, equality, constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy".

Thirdly, "we are a Christian country and should not be afraid to say so whilst respecting other people's right to have or not have a religion".

For the many shortcomings in British history Mr Cameron pointed out that debates in 1647 in the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Putney saw the first call for "One man and one vote" and demand for vesting of authority in Parliament rather than King.

The Church built hospitals, created charities, fed the hungry, nursed the sick and looked after the poor to whom they gave shelter.

Humanitarian crises are mainly supported by the Church charities.Mr Cameron stated that the Bible has helped to give Britain a set of values and morals which we should stand up for and defend. Moral neutrality was not an option.

St Thomas Aquinas wrote: "It is through culture that man lives a truly human life." The words were repeated by John Paul II at the Unesco headquarters in 1980. No country should abandon its own culture or heritage since doing so eventually leads to its loss of identity.

Michael Myers, Leicester

HOW ARE YOUR QUOTES CHOSEN?

2011-12-29T09:55:00.006Z

This letter is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

How are your quotes chosen?

I am always pleased to see Thought for the Day published in the Leicester Mercury, but I do wonder how these passages are chosen.

They seem to have no connection to the liturgical year.

We have had no Christmas season verses this month, and, indeed, a few weeks ago, we actually had an Easter reading. Would it not be easier to follow the Christian calendar and print the readings laid down by the Church?

That said, I would rather have any Bible passages than none at all!

Wendy Geen, Wigston

MUSLIM LEADER CONDEMNS NIGERIAN BOMB ATTACKS

2011-12-27T13:33:00.006Z

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Muslim leader condemns Nigerain bomb attacks

A Muslim community leader has condemned the Christmas Day bombing of churches in Nigeria.

Islamic group Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which claimed at least 39 lives.

Suleman Nagdi, spokesman for the Leicestershire Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO), said: "These heinous acts fill us with horror.

"Millions of people around the world are engaging in acts of worship and peace. These murderers show no regard for basic human rights and values.

"Christians and Muslims both revere Jesus and deplorable terrorist attacks such as these show no regard for the principles which our shared great Prophet stood for.

"Christians and Muslims have been victims of similar attacks by the group.

"We extend our sympathies to the victims' families and wish the Nigerian government well in its attempts to catch the culprits."

CHRISTIANITY: CAMERON'S WRONG

2011-12-26T13:23:00.004Z

This letter is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Christianity: Cameron's Wrong

David Cameron's speech on December 16 about Christianity is deeply worrying for those of us, including many Christians, who are working together to promote the shared values and sense of community that we need.

It misrepresents the past and shows no understanding of the present. It might be said in excuse that it was put together to please a particular audience, Anglican clergy, on a particular occasion, the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, but I fear that it is all "spin" in pursuance of a personal fantasy which, if realised, would be to the detriment of us all. He links the Bible with parliamentary democracy, but the Church has often been opposed to democracy.

In the 19th century it opposed the extension of voting rights and the right of elected MPs to sit in parliament regardless of belief; it opposed freedom of expression, of religion and of belief; it opposed the introduction of state schools free of Church control; it opposed access to universities, and, importantly for women, it opposed publications about birth control.

History must not be twisted, and its proper acknowledgement by members of the Church gives reassurance that we are being dealt with fairly by decent human beings and can move on together – we get similar assurance from the revulsion expressed by Catholics at the abuse of children by some clerics.

Cameron says we need values: of course we do, and Christianity has much to contribute as have other religions. But the surest way to fail to promote these values is to tie them to a privileged religion. Out of practicality, in a country as diverse as ours and where most people are not religious, values must be based on our common humanity.

He tries to create a bogey man of a neutral secular society where anything goes, implying that only Christianity will save us. This is cheap: we have a big task ahead building a good society. It will involve upbringing, education, law, and business, and to succeed it must be a society that both cares for its members and makes them responsible active members; a society where life is measured by well-being and community, not just GDP, profit, and markets – it will need us all to contribute.

And it must be said here that we are not a Christian country: we are a country that belongs to all who live here and where all share equally in deciding its future.

That brings me to my final, and vital, point: are we not making too much of religious identity?

Someone's religion does not tell us everything about them – we all have many interests and affiliations that link us. Are we not in danger of using heritages that should enrich us to make boxes that separate us?

Allan Hayes, director, Leicester Secular Society.

PROTESTERS LEAVE THEIR CITY CENTRE BASE

2011-12-26T11:07:00.003Z

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Protesters leave their city centre base

Protesters from the Occupy Leicester campaign have left the city centre after being evicted from the empty offices they had made their base.

Three members of the group remained at offices above The disused Litten Tree pub, in High Street, when a legal order requiring them to quit the property came into force at midday on Saturday.

They moved in there a week ago having spent five weeks in a tent encampment in High Street protesting against alleged Government corruption and greed. Spud Cabon, 18, from Leicester, said: "We're a bit disappointed because this feels like a defeat and that is not in our nature, but we do intend to come back early in the new year."

The lease to the office is held by Safe Computing Ltd, who applied for the court order.

Safe Computing managing director Sandy Scott said: "There are no hard feelings. I was in the Orange Tree, taking my staff for a drink, and I recognised a couple of them from the court case so I offered to buy them a pint which, eventually they accepted."

MASS OF CHRISTMAS DAY

2011-12-25T12:42:00.006Z

We're in St Thomas the Apostle Parish Church (Glen Parva with South Wigston) this morning for Mass of Christmas Day. We've brought Harry here for the Full Choir Eucharist, starting at 1000, and stay for the service.

I have to admit that this is the first time I've set foot in a church on Christmas Day. We were here yesterday afternoon for Christingle, when there was standing room only and a lot of children. It's not quite like that today but there's still a decent turnout and a good few kids among us.

It was so busy yesterday that I couldn't get a decent view of the Nativity scene at the back of the church, laid out before the Font. It's a lovely piece of work, carved from laburnum wood (there's a more traditional nativity scene in front of the Altar). I particularly like the star!

The service isn't especially Christmassey today; it's very much in the format of the Sung Eucharist that is held every Sunday morning (after all, Christmas Day does fall on a Sunday this year). At the point in the service where we rise from our seats and share the sign of peace with each other, we say "Peace be with you" rather than "Merry Christmas" or something similar, which I'd expected we would do. I wonder for how many people here this will be the only contact they have with others all day. The big difference from a regular Sunday morning service is that today the hymns are all Christmas Carols, so we know the words and the tune and can really belt them out - and I do!

I wanted to be able to include something a wee bit different about the spirit and true meaning of Christmas, something that perhaps I haven't seen anywhere else during this Festive Season. Here's the second reading from the service this morning, from the letter of Paul to Titus (Titus 2: 11-14)

The grace of God has appeared, bringing slavation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present have to live lives that are self-controlled, upright and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.

Grace gets a kick out of hearing here name included in the readings and hymns. She's well aware of the meaning and it never gets old for her.

CHRISTINGLE AT ST THOMAS THE APOSTLE PARISH CHURCH

2011-12-24T19:17:00.015Z

To St Thomas the Apostle Parish Church (South Wigston with Glen Parva) this Christmas Eve for Christingle, held in aid of the Children's Society. Many of those attending bring a Christmas present for a deprived child, suitably wrapped, with appropriate gender and age clearly marked on it. these toys will be collected and distributed to children here or abroad by the Salvation Army.

Christingle (which means "Christ's Light") is a tradition dating back some 300 years ago to what is now the Czech Republic. The custom of giving out lighted candles in these services originates from the Moravian Church in Germany in 1747 but they weren’t introduced to the Anglican Church in England until 1968. Christingle can be celebrated any time from Advent in December till up to three weeks after Christmas in January. Christingle celebrations take place in schools, youth groups and churches, with more than half a million kids taking part each year all over the country.

During the singing of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" we are all invited to come to the front of the church and receive a Christingle. We filter down the central aisle, then return to our seats via the two side aisles.The Christingle consists of an orange with a candle protruding from the top of it, a red ribbon around the middle and sweets on cocktail sticks (jelly babies today). Each part of a Christingle stands for something:

Orange – the world
Candle – Jesus, light of the world
Red ribbon – the blood of Jesus, shed for the people of the world
Cocktail sticks and sweets – the seasons and all the good things in our world

When everyone has their Christingle, the lights are put out and we sing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" with the church lit only by the candles in our oranges (as seen in the photo above). The Vicar gives the blessing then, on the count of three, we blow out our candles and the Christmas tree lights come on.

CELEBRATING HANUKKAH WITH LEICESTER PROGRESSIVE JEWISH CONGREGATION

2011-12-23T21:28:00.068Z

Official lighting (at 1700) of the public Menorah for Hanukkah in Victoria Park (opposite Mayfield Roundabout). This is hosted by the Leicester Progressive Jewish Congregation, with special guest, Deputy Lord Mayor, Cllr Abdul Osman (on the platform on the left of the photo above). The programme states that Sir Peter Soulsby, Mayor of Leicester, would be attending, but due to extenuating circumstances, who is unable to do so.

Despite having received an invitation to this open air event each year since I took up my post with Leicester Council of Faiths, this is the first time I've actually been able to attend. Cold or flu or bad weather (or a combination of both) have prevented me from coming along to this before. It's been bucketting down most of the day, but thankfully it stops half an hour or so before the ceremony begins.

This is the last of three community celebrations of Hanukkah to which I've been invited this week. I was correct in thinking that I'd be the only person in Leicester to attend all three of them (having been to the communal indoor lighting in the Town Hall with the Leicester Hebrew Congregation on Tuesday, then the celebration at Teshuvah Messianic Synagogue last night). I wasn't going to let a bit of rain or a few sniffles keep me from setting that personal record. After all, I can't assume I'd be able to do this next year.

There are speeches and songs of course, although they're kept to a minimum, since we're out in the cold and the dark (and at rush hour, the Friday before Christmas in one of the busiest parts of the city for traffic). Then we go back to Neve Shalom on Avenue Road, for a brief Shabbat evening service and refreshments, continuing the celebration of Hanukkah.

I enjoy the hospitality, informality and spontaneity at Neve Shalom, emphasised this evening in several ways. The seats are arranged in a circle, there's a variety of Menorah on a central table (some homemade, one where the candlesticks take the form of stereotypical Jewish community characters) which the children light. When the table is cleared away after the service, the children play with their dreidels, winning chocolate coins.

The plaque attached to the public Menorah (photo above) contains the following words:

The lights on the Menorah commemorate the miracle of Chanukah. They celebrate religious freedom and the ever growing victory of light over darkness

Below this text, the plaque bears the seal of Leicester City Council. I wonder how many other cities in the UK have a public Menorah - if any. A quick google search proves inconclusive (it's hard to find the right search terms that will yield the answers I'm looking for). This Menorah is a very distinctive feature, especially as it's not in the grounds of one of the city's synagogues, but in such a prominent public place. Arguably, more people will have seen the public Menorah than will know actually what it is, due its busy location and the fact that it isn’t a permanent, fixed feature and is taken down as soon as Hanukah is over. I'd be interested in finding out if there's anything similar to this in other parts of the country.

Just as there are variations in the way that Hanukkah is celebrated, so there are various ways of spelling the name of this special occasion in the Jewish community calendar. In each of these three blog entries, I've spelled it as it appears on the invitation from the respective host community.

PROTESTERS FACE EVICTION HEARING

2011-12-23T11:18:00.002Z

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Protesters face eviction hearing

Members of the Occupy Leicester movement were today facing action in court to remove them from an office in the city.

The Mercury reported on Tuesday how the protesters had moved from their camp near the Clock Tower and entered a disused first-floor office in High Street, owned by Safe Computing.

Safe Computing is seeking repossession of the office and a hearing was due to be held at the County Court this morning.

Safe Computing employs 80 people at its adjacent offices on Freeschool Lane, and acquired the occupied building in October with the intention of developing it in the near future.

The company says the occupied offices form part of the building's fire exit.

Managing director Sandy Scott said: "From a health and safety point of view we had no alternative but to seek repossession of the building.

"It was a bit of a shock when they moved in but their intentions were not malicious.

"We've followed the course of the law, taken advice from the police and solicitors, and left them in peace.

"I just hope they can go home and spend Christmas with their families."

Anthony Farrow, from the group, said: "We have spoken to the landlord, there's no tension between us and we are complying with the law."

MUSLIMS ARE NOT OFFENDED BY CELEBRATIONS OF OTHER RELIGIONS

2011-12-22T14:51:00.001Z

This article, first published in 2006, has been doing the rounds recently, mainly in the Twitterverse. It was written by Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra (in photo above), Chairman of the Muslim Council of Britain's Inter Faith Relations Committee. Regular readers of this blog and those who know me personally or professionally will know that my admiration and respect for Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra know no bounds. He is one of the leading lights of inter faith work in this country and farther afield. There can be few people dedicated to fostering good inter faith relations in the UK who have not shared a platform, a microphone or a cup of tea with him. He was a regular and reliable source of advice and guidance to me when I was writing the introductory leaflets on Muslims in my early days working for Leicester Council of Faiths. He is based at Masjid Umar in Evington Road and was a member of our Council of Faiths for several years,but had to resign recently to dedicate his time and effort more to the national (and international) scene. Our paths don't cross often enough these days for my liking and I'm glad to put my blog to good use by giving him a platform for his compassionate, good-humoured, rational and tolerant views. This article has been lifted from the Muslim Council of Britain website.

Muslims are not offended by celebrations of other religions

Muslims regard Judaism and Christianity as divine religions. Islam is a continuation and an extension of those great religions. In order to qualify as a Muslim, one has to believe in Moses (Musa) and Jesus (Isa) along with all the Biblical prophets, peace be upon them. Muslims have to believe in the Torah (Tawrat), the Psalms (Zabur) and the Gospel (Injil) although Muslim scholars do have some issues about the accuracy of a few parts of these scriptures. And although Islam declares that it is the way of life chosen by God for humanity and that Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the final messenger of God, and that the Qur'an is the final message, the Qur'an affectionately refers to the followers of these previous scriptures as the People of the Book.

Muslims see these religious communities as cousins not only in faith but in ancestry also, through Abraham, that great pillar of monotheism. Islam encourages invitation (da`wah) to Islam though wisdom and good speech and through constructive and dignified dialogue. Muslims are not allowed to use force or coercion in order to convert others. Islam calls on Muslims to respect all human beings and all religions as they are. Muslims are not allowed to force Islam and its practices upon others in society. They are encouraged to set a good example, show alternatives to lifestyles and to be good role models and to refrain from and to declare their condemnation of all evil in society without inciting hatred for the perpetrators.

So we Muslims are baffled when we read and hear that Christmas is being `banned' and replaced with something else because the organisers do not want to offend Muslims. Where do they get this idea from? Who told them that? Such actions lead to comments like, `It's those Muslims again. They always have a problem with everything we do. Why don't they just leave and go back to their own country?' A majority of British Muslims were born here. Where do we want them to go? Local authorities, organisations and businesses trying to avoid offending Muslims and trying to be politically correct actually cause more harm to cohesion and understanding. There is a need to stem the tide of such ill-thought-out decisions where ruling bodies try to 'second guess' the attitudes of the communities and seek to defuse conflicts before they have even been felt or arisen. To suggest that calling Christmas with its proper name and that Christmas decorations would offend Muslims is absurd. Why should Christmas not be celebrated openly and wholeheartedly in our country when a vast majority of people identify themselves as Christians. This country owes a lot to Christianity. Its moral values and ethical codes have been moulded by Christian teachings for centuries. In fact the whole planet has benefited from Christian teachings and continues to do so. Muslims would adopt all those values and moral codes without question or hesitation. Even if the Christian communities in our country were a minority, we would want Christmas to be celebrated because ours is a multi faith, multi cultural, pluralist and democratic country.

We have been calling on Christian friends for a long time now to reclaim Christmas from the commercialisation of it. We have been encouraging them to bring back the religious and spiritual richness of Christmas. Last year, a delegation of Christians and Muslims were in Brussels for a conference. For dinner we went to a restaurant in the centre of the city. I was thrilled to see that the nativity scene was re-enacted with life size figurines of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus, the wise men, stables, straw and even live sheep! Why have I not seen this in Britain? It would be wonderful to show my children what the very special Jesus means to Christians and to discuss with them what he means to us and to learn the different beliefs we all hold. Merry Christmas to all Christians and whoever else chooses to celebrate it.

By Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, Chairman, Inter Faith Relations Committee, Muslim Council of Britain

CELEBRATING CHANUKAH AT TESHUVAH MESSIANIC SYNAGOGUE

2011-12-21T23:44:00.144Z

I've accepted an invitation to celebrate Chanukah this evening at Teshuvah Messianic Synagogue. The invitation has come from Rabbi Dr Yehoshua Scott. He and I have spoken on the phone and exchanged emails over the past few months, but haven't met in person till this evening. That's Rabbi Scott in the photo above, beside the banner that’s put up outside Brice Hall (in Queens Road) whenever the congregation is meeting here.

This is the second of three Chanukah celebrations to which I've been invited this week. I attended the communal indoor lighting in the Town Hall with the Leicester Hebrew Congregation last night and have an invitation to the lighting of the public Menorah in Victoria Park with the Leicester Progressive Jewish Congregation on Friday. If I'm able to attend all three, then I reckon I'll be the only person in Leicester to have done so.

I'm greeted at the door by the Rabbi's wife, who seats me beside Vickie Simpson, with whom I chat for the few minutes before the programme starts. I'm pleased to discover that, among other things, Vickie is an artist. Her work can be seen online here.

Rabbi Scott leads us through several songs, in Hebrew and English, accompanied by a small band, comprising a singer, a keyboard player and a violinist. We also see a number of musical video presentations, each one portraying something different about the celebration of Chanukah:

Rock of Ages The Hanukkah story in eight hit songs (a short medley of pop music parodies through the ages) by aish.com
Candlelight by The Maccabeats (a spoof of Taio Cruz's "Dynamite", based on Mike Tompkin's a cappela version of that song) that has received over 6,000,000 hits on YouTube
Chanukkah Rights by Six13
Light in the Air by biblerapsnation

Rabbi Scott reads a learned yet accessible drasha telling the story of the historical event which is commemorated and celebrated annually at Chanukkah, setting it within the wider historical context of its time and place.

A young man named Marcus shares his testimony with us. He reads three poems of his own composition, based on his experiences, each illustrating a different stage of fatherhood (and each an analogy for his changing relationship with God). To tell the truth, normally I don't find it easy to relate to this sort of thing, but I find Marcus's contribution to the evening was genuinely affecting, touching and moving. I think it brave of him to bare his soul before us (and I make a point of telling him that afterwards).

The attendees this evening are quite a mixed bunch, which is reflected in the food and drink on offer: Indian, Indonesian, Thai, as well as more traditional Chanukh fare (e.g. latkes and jam doughnuts).

I meet people this evening who have travelled from as far afield as Birmingham, Cambridgeshire and Coventry. Teshuvah Messianic Synagogue is the only one of its kind in the Midlands. Presently, there are two other Messianic Jewish congregations in England: Adat Yeshuah, in Norwich, Norfolk and Zera Avraham in Coulsdon, Surrey. All three are affiliated to the Union of British Messianic Jewish Congregations.

I enjoyed my warm welcome this evening - I didn't get to leave until 2245! I hope to be able to meet Rabbi Scott and his wife again, get to know more members of the congregation, learn more about their beliefs and learn more from their experiences.

You may well have noticed, faithful reader, that just as there are variations in the way that Chanukah is celebrated, so there are variations in its spelling. In each of these three blog entries, I've spelled it as it appears on the invitation from the respective host community.

CELEBRATING CHANUKAH WITH LEICESTER HEBREW CONGREGATION

2011-12-20T23:21:00.286Z

To the Town Hall this evening, for the annual Chanukah lighting ceremony hosted by Leicester Hebrew Congregation. Clare and I are among the last to arrive. Since the Council Chamber is pretty full, we have to find seats in the balcony. I've never been up there before, but we have a good view of proceedings from our place in the gods.

The programme is introduced by Tony Nelson, who represents the Leicester Hebrew Congregation on the Council of Faiths (of which he is the current Treasurer and past Vice Chair). Tony mentions two things that stand out most in the past year for the community: the physical attacks on the Rabbi's home, the Synagogue and Communal Hall; and the fact that the Synagogue has been put up for sale (all of which received prominent coverage in the media - and in this blog). He counters the negative tone of the former by crediting the Police and the other faith communities (particularly local Muslims) for their support. As regards the latter, he says that the community has really just been "testing the waters" by promoting the Synagogue for sale. While Tony is careful not to make it sound as if the crisis in their resources that has led to the Synagogue being put up for sale has been solved (he describes the community as being "asset-rich but cash-poor"), he does make it sound as if the sale is not a foregone conclusion. As tentative as this is, still you can feel a sense of relief in the meeting at his words.

Guests of honour on the platform this evening are Jon Ashworth MP and Cllr Robert Wan, Lord Mayor of Leicester. Also present are Deputy Mayor of Leicester Cllr Rory Palmer, City Councillors Susan Barton, Lucy Chaplin, Virginia Cleaver, Inderjit Gugnani, Rashmikant Joshi, Sundip Meghani, Lynn Moore, Barbara Potter, Manjula Sood (who is also, of course, Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths), Malcolm Unsworth and Ross Wilmott. From the county, there's Leader of Leicestershire County Council, David Parsons CC; Chair of Leicestershire County Council, Jackie Dickinson CC; Past Chair of Leicestershire County Council, Peter Osborne CC; Alan Bailey CC.

Jon Ashworth MP offers his greetings, congratulations and best wishes for Chanukah. Then we watch two video clips on the big screen: A Little Light and A Human Menorah.

Next Rabbi Yossi Jacobs. of Singers Hill Synagogue, Birmingham, speaks about Chanukah's message for our world today. Rabbi Jacobs is the youngest ever Chief Minister at Singers Hill - and he's from Glasgow, I'm pleased to note. He suggests dedicating each one of the lights in the eight days of Chanukah as follows:

to God
to parents
to spouses, children, family
to teachers, religious leaders, mentors
to the leaders of the world
to soldiers on the battlefield and their loved ones at home
to everyone gathered in this room and those who work for tolerance
to the children of the world

The children of the community always contribute something lively to the programme. This year it's Chanukah Bingo! They're rewarded for their efforts by receiving Chanukah gelt.

The key moment is, of course, the lighting of the large Menorah which dominates the platform. Rabbi Pink ascends the ladder, bearing the taper lit by the Lord Mayor (who, with a mind on Health and Safety, provides a steadying hand). All the speeches and activities are interspersed with traditional songs, led by Rabbi Pink.

Speaking with the Lord Mayor during the reception after the formal programme has ended, I mention that I've taken notes from his speech for the blog. He graciously reaches into his inside jacket pocket and hands me the text of his speech. It's only when I unfold the pages several minutes later and read it that I discover he's actually given me the text of his speech to the Thurnby Community Association Annual Christmas Dinner Dance. Since there's no date on it, for all I know, it's one he's still got to give - and he's in the process of leaving the building! I can imagine him standing up to give his address there and pulling out the text of his Chanukah speech. Thankfully, I catch up with Joseph, the Lord Mayor's assistant and we swap speeches so we both come away with the right pages. After all that effort, it's only right that I reproduce the Lord Mayor's speech in full:

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen

I am privileged and delighted to be here with you all this evening for this communal lighting of the Menorah.

The festivals here in Leicester are one of the city's great glories and I am very proud to represent the people of Leicester at the beginning of this eight day Festival of Lights.

Hanukkah celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, of good over evil. As with all religious ceremonies, it is important, as well as enjoying them, to look to the truths they represent.

In a world where there seems to be much that is of the darkness - economic uncertainty, unemployment, war and violence - it is important that light and goodness should be seen to triumph.

As we celebrate the triumph of good over evil in the defeat of Antiochus and the Rededication of the defiled Temple all those years ago, let us work for the triump of goodness and justice in our world today.

Hannukah is also celebrated by the Jewish community in other ways. It is a time for giving and receiving of presents, of traditional games and also an occasion for enjoying traditional foods fried in oils. I am certainly looking forward to sampling the traditional doughnuts this evening.

I would like to thank Rabbi Pink for inviting me to be here this evening and to be part of the festival that commemorates a momentous episode in Jewish history and to remind us that miracles come in all shapes and sizes.

Thank you.

This is the first of three Chanukah celebrations to which I've been invited this week. I’ve also received invitations to Teshuvah Messianic Synagogue tomorrow evening and to the lighting of the public Menorah in Victoria Park with the Leicester Progressive Jewish Congregation on Friday. If I'm able to attend those two, as well as having been here tonight, then I reckon I'll be the only person in Leicester to have done so.

PROTESTERS NEED TO GET POINT ACROSS

2011-12-20T11:00:00.010Z

This Op-Ed piece is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Protesters need to get point across

It is time for the Occupy movement in Leicester to do more to get their message across or just pack up and go home. Most people don't really know what they are doing and are unlikely to bother asking.

Rather people will view them as a blot on the city's landscape.

We believe, however, that they have chosen a noble cause to pursue and, as long as they operate within the boundaries of the law, we accept that they are fighting the good fight.

The concern we have is that the activists who make up Occupy Leicester, Wall Street, Berlin, Zurich, or wherever are not getting a clear message across.

This appears to be the perception of many people.

So far, the occupation has not been successful in influencing banks to consider handing over their profits and share them out. It has also not caused much concern for politicians.

We are aware that the Occupy movement is an ongoing peaceful protest and a demonstration against economic inequality, a lack of affordability of housing, social injustice, corporate greed and the influence of companies but we fear it is going nowhere.

Our story today says that Occupy Leicester has now moved above the Litten Tree pub, in High Street.

The group will now be less visible than they were before, however the group say they'll be warmer and be able to conduct their campaign better from the office space.

We hope that they can start to get their message across, as the current apathy towards what the Occupy Movement is doing is getting it nowhere.

OCCUPY LEICESTER PROTESTERS MOVE INTO EMPTY OFFICE FOR WINTER

2011-12-20T10:35:00.010Z

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Occupy Leicester protesters move into an empty office for winter

Protesters from the Occupy Leicester movement have taken their struggle against government corruption, corporate greed and the winter weather indoors.

The campaigners, who have been based outside the entrance to the Highcross shopping centre, on High Street, for the past five weeks, had been discussing a "new tactic" which would allow them to expand their numbers during the bitter midwinter temperatures.

On Saturday, they entered an unlocked, disused office above the former Litten Tree pub, also on High Street, and have remained there since.

Spokesman Anthony Farrow said they occupied the building legally and police, who visited the building on Sunday morning, were satisfied their entry was above board.

Anthony, 22, an animation and design student at De Montfort University, said: "We've taken an old, out-of-use office block. The door was left open so we haven't forced entry and we were able to claim the building lawfully."

Anthony, who works two jobs as well as spending most nights at the camp, says the move to a warmer base will allow more people to become regularly involved.

He also hopes the new base will allow the group to host debates and public meetings.

They will still maintain a presence outdoors by erecting a stall on the street outside the building.

He said: "We were concerned about people's health and this allows more people to get involved in the Christmas period. We plan to stay until the spring, then we'll move back out when it gets warm again."

Kieran Murray, 18, said: "It's quite a good move because the London occupiers did the same thing. We've done it with a corporate building, so it's targeting the things we're aiming at."

Kieran, a call centre manager from Nottingham, had originally been based with the Occupy movement there, but moved to the Leicester camp soon after it set up.

However, he was forced to return home for a fortnight after contracting pneumonia.

He said: "It got to the stage where I had to go home to rest and recuperate. I've managed to keep on top of (my work) from the camp.

"A lot of staff at the call centre are really supportive and think it's a brilliant thing, but I've not heard too much from my boss."

The building is owned by Safe Computing Ltd, a software and outsourcing provider based on nearby Freeschool Lane. The company declined to comment yesterday.

James Coningsby, head of commercial property at Nelsons Solicitors, on New Walk, Leicester, says the protestors would have no right to remain squatting in the building should the owner decide to take action, and would have to leave within two days if served with a notice to do so.

He said: "The fact of the matter is they haven't committed a criminal act, but in terms of a defence they don't have one in my view.

"I think it's quite rare for commercial property to be occupied in this way, but there are occasions when this does happen."

A police spokesperson said any dispute over the occupation which may arise would be a civil matter between the owner and the protesters.

EVINGTON CENTRE

2011-12-19T16:49:00.002Z

At the Evington Centre, Leicester General Hospital, this afternoon for a meeting to promote the NHS Staff Multi-Faith Resource that we've helped produce for Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. I've come along with Abida Hussain, the Trust's Equalities and Human Rights Officer, as part of the ongoing process of introducing this resource to those members of staff most likely to use it. We speak to small groups on Clarendon Ward and Coleman Ward, our visits timed to coincide with briefing points when handing over shifts. The Evington Centre provides care to older people with long term mental health needs. Clarendon Ward has historically served people in the county, while Coleman Ward has performed the same function for people in the city.

We have further visits to this venue scheduled for later in the week, but other wards have been closed to visitors because of an outbreak of D&V (figure it out, faithful reader). So we'll need to check if those visits can still go ahead on the day.

ANTI-CUTS PROTESTERS TARGET BIG RETAILERS

2011-12-19T11:27:00.001Z

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Anti-cuts protesters target big retailers

Campaigners have staged a protest outside branches of high street chains they say are not paying enough tax.

Members of Occupy Leicester, which has set up a camp in High Street, protested on behalf of the UK Uncut movement, which promotes what it says are alternatives to the Government's spending cuts.

The demonstration was coordinated with 13 others in towns and cities across the country, including London, Manchester and Glasgow.

Nicole Thompson, 17, from Leicester, said: "We're campaigning about the miniscule taxes that big high street brands pay each year.

"People in the public sector are losing pensions and facing redundancies and some private company staff are getting fat bonuses.

"It's not on."

Dane Smith, 23, from Leicester, is living at the Occupy Leicester camp, which has been a fixture in the city centre for five weeks.He said: "People are losing their jobs in the public sector and the Government is doing nothing about it."

Public sector worker Jackie, 47, was at the demonstration, but is not taking part in the camp.

She said: "I work with people who have to choose between food and warmth.

"They – and us – are paying for the mess that banks have got us into.

"It's about time we stuck together and showed we will not stand for it."

DANGER OF SENSATIONALIST CLAIMS

2011-12-19T11:19:00.003Z

This letter from Suleman Nagdi appears in today's Leicester Mercury, responding to Manzoor Moghal's First Person column, published in the Mercury on 13 December (and posted in full on this blog).

Danger of sensationalist claims

I write in relation to the article 'Understanding the history of religious conflict' (Mailbox, December 13) by Manzoor Moghal.

Brother Manzoor makes certain claims; I ask from whose history is he writing from? If we learn anything from history, it's that history portrays nothing in a positive light, only that it reports what was depending on which side you were on. Both religion and race have played important and sometimes deeply interconnected roles in Indian history for that matter worldwide. Religion was used to justify both segregation and desegregation.

The writer makes a number of charges against the Deobandi school of thought which require closer examination. The link to the Taliban is an interesting one especially when the vast majority of Taliban foot soldiers as well as the leadership have never set foot in India, let alone Deoband. To simply associate orthodoxy in practice with violent extremism is a very dangerous claim. Most of Al Qaeda's ideology and origins are not in imperialist India but developments in Arabia and parts of Africa in the 20th century.

The author unfortunately makes the sensationalist claim that "Historically Islam and the West have been locked in conflict for centuries". He is locked in a mind-set. For example, nearly three million Muslims perished during the first and second world wars. The recent Remembrance Day commemorations reminded us of their efforts. Islam through science and the arts has contributed a great deal towards enriching the very societies we now live in.

In relation to the division of Islam with Hinduism and Sikhism, the writer is short-sighted because members of these three faiths have lived together, migrated together, worked together and celebrated together for centuries in the Asian sub-continent and Africa.

To do justice to the subject we need to create an unbiased approach at the same time recognising that alternative views exist, it is very easy to blame the "Wahabist founded Deobandi school of thought" or for that matter any other school of thought.

We are already aware that extremists in all their ugly disguises come from many sources, in many cases through vulnerability, be it mental health, environment, change of circumstances or a journey an individual takes. We should be spending our energy in creating an atmosphere of working together to root out extremism in whatever disguise it comes from rather than making sensationalist claims.

Suleman Nagdi, Leicester

HISTORIC BUILDING IS SET TO BECOME PLACE OF WORSHIP

2011-12-19T11:07:00.005Z

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Historic building is set to become place of worship

By Dan Martin

One of Leicester's landmark historic buildings has been bought by Hare Krishna devotees, who plan to turn it into a place of worship.

The Victorian former bank, in Granby Street, in the city centre, has been acquired by the Leicester members of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

The group has been seeking a permanent base since its previous temple, in Thoresby Street, North Evington, Leicester, was destroyed by an explosion in September last year.

Members have been worshipping in rented spaces since then, and said they were looking forward to moving into the 1870s-built, Grade II-listed property.

The building has lain empty for three years since HSBC quit the premises, and has recently been added to English Heritage's list of significant buildings at risk of falling into disrepair.

President of ISKCON, Pradyumna Das, said the building would be open to the public.

He said: "This is a great opportunity for us to bring back into use a fantastic building right at the heart of the city.

"As well as a focus on spirituality and self-realisation, we want to invite the people of our county to come and learn about the heritage of the place and celebrate its wonderful architecture." The society intends to restore the building to its former glory and bring it back into use as a place of worship with a range of community activities, eventually providing a restaurant, yoga and meditation studio, and self-development workshops.

The amount paid for the property has not been revealed.

But the purchase has been made possible thanks to the financial support of an unnamed family based in London and Leicester.

A spokesman for the family said: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be able to offer not only a place of worship but also a place of spiritual learning for all the people of Leicester."

ISKCON spokesman Pradip Gajjar said: "We are very excited, but it could be some time before we are able to move in."

Stuart Bailey, chairman of Leicester Civic Society, has described the building as "an outstanding example of Victorian Gothic architecture – probably the finest in the city".

He said of the purchase: "This is great news because there were fears the building would fall into disrepair.

"There are already some problems with the roof and I imagine they will want to get in there quickly because the longer they leave it the more repairs they will have to make.

"This building is a real stunner and when they built it, it was way ahead of its time. I think its massive banking hall will make a wonderful place of worship."