WE WOULDN'T WANT TO HOG THE LIMELIGHT

This is from the Mercury Opinion column in today's Leicester Mercury:

We wouldn't want to hog the limelight

The 2017 UK City of Culture contest has been debated in Parliament, with politicians from the 11 rival locations saying why their area should win. Leicester South MP Jon Ashworth listed many of our city's assets, but said our main strength was our people. His comments, and those of some of the other MPs in the debate, reminded us just how much we have to be proud of in Leicester.

Whether you want history, art or to experience a wealth of different cultures, you would be hard pressed to find a city in the competition that beats ours.

However, whether we will take up Southend West MP David Amess's suggestion for increasing our cultural appeal is unlikely.

Mr Amess said the city's "secret weapon", Leicester East MP Keith Vaz, who entertained internet viewers with his rendition of a song from the film Grease, should represent the UK in the Eurovision song contest next year.

Leicestershire has already had a shot in the Eurovision spotlight, when our beloved Engelbert performed in the competition last year.

It would be greedy of us to hog the limelight.

CAMERON ACCUSED OF BETRAYING CHRISTIANS

There's plenty of coverage in the national media today of an article written by Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, published in the Daily Mail. Immediately below is how the article is promoted on the Daily Mail's website, followed by the full text of the article itself.

Cameron accused of betraying Christians: Astonishing Easter attack on the PM by former Archbishop of Canterbury

Many Christians doubt David Cameron’s sincerity in pledging to protect their freedoms, former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey says today.

In an article for the Daily Mail, Lord Carey squarely accuses ministers of "aiding and abetting" discrimination against Christians.

He says he believes there is an "aggressive secularist and relativist approach" behind the Government plans to legalise gay marriage and says the Prime Minister has "done more than any other recent political leader" to "feed" Christian anxieties.

As a dramatic new poll released on the eve of Easter Sunday revealed that more than two-thirds of Christians feel they are now part of a "persecuted minority", Lord Carey insists the Government must do more to demonstrate its commitment to pledges to stand up for faith.

The survey suggests churchgoers increasingly feel religious freedoms are under assault from aggressive secularism. 

Critics say court rulings against Christians who want to wear crosses at work, and legal action preventing prayers before council meetings, have helped make people feel marginalised.

In the article, Lord Carey expresses particular alarm about apparent Government support for a campaign by Labour MP Chris Bryant to turn the 700-year-old Parliamentary chapel of St Mary Undercroft into a multi-faith prayer room so that gay couples can get married there.

But he also turns his fire on the Prime Minister, saying: "It was a bit rich to hear that the Prime Minister has told religious leaders that they should 'stand up and oppose aggressive secularisation' when it seems that his government is aiding and abetting this aggression every step of the way.

"At his pre-Easter Downing Street reception for faith leaders, he said that he supported Christians’ right to practise their faith. Yet many Christians doubt his sincerity."

The ComRes poll suggests there is continuing resentment over the Government’s decision to legalise same-sex unions, even though there is special protection for the Church of England in the law. 

More than half (58 per cent) of Christians who backed the Conservatives in 2010 suggested they will ‘definitely not’ vote for the party in 2015.

The ComRes poll of 535 regular churchgoers, commissioned by the Coalition for Marriage (C4M), reveals that more than two-thirds (67 per cent) of Christians feel that they are part of a ‘persecuted minority’.

The march of secularism means that if trends continue, Britain will no longer be a Christian country by 2030 when the number of non-believers will have overtaken the number of Christians.

In the past six years the number of Muslims has surged by 37 per cent to 2.6 million, Hindus by 43 per cent and Buddhists by a massive 74 per cent.

Numbers who choose to call themselves Christians fell by more than 4 million in a decade after 2001, the 2011 census showed. Fewer than six out of ten – 59.3 per cent – described themselves as Christian.

A decade ago nearly three quarters, 72 per cent, did so. Some 33.2 million people said they were Christian in 2011.

Downing Street strongly rejected Lord Carey’s attack. A spokesman said: "This government strongly backs faith and Christianity in particular, including backing the rights of people wanting to wear crosses at work and hold prayers at council meetings. Christianity plays a vital part in the Big Society."

Here's the text of Lord Carey's article in full, published in the Daily Mail today:

The PM's done more than any other leader to make Christians feel they're perescuted

I like David Cameron and believe he is genuinely sincere in his desire to make Britain a generous nation where we care for one another and where people of faith may exercise their beliefs fully.

But it was a bit rich to hear that the Prime Minister has told religious leaders that they should ‘stand up and oppose aggressive secularisation’ when it seems that his government is aiding and abetting this aggression every step of the way.

At his pre-Easter Downing Street reception for faith leaders, he said that he supported Christians’ right to practise their faith. Yet many Christians doubt his sincerity. According to a new ComRes poll more than two-thirds of Christians feel that they are part of a ‘persecuted minority’.

Their fears may be exaggerated because few in the UK are actually persecuted, but the Prime Minister has done more than any other recent political leader to feed these anxieties.

He seems to have forgotten in spite of his oft-repeated support for the right of Christians to wear the cross, that lawyers acting for the Coalition argued only months ago in the Strasbourg court that those sacked for wearing a cross against their employer’s wishes should simply get another job.

More shockingly, the Equalities Minister, Helen Grant, recently gave her support to the Labour MP Chris Bryant’s campaign to turn the 700-year-old Parliamentary chapel of St Mary Undercroft into a multi-faith prayer room so that gay couples can get married there. The Speaker of the House of Commons is reported to be supportive of the move.

Now, there are many questions that we need to ask. If this means the removal of Christian symbols from the chapel to accommodate all faiths and even humanist ceremonies this would amount to changing the chapel fundamentally, even to banishing the Christian faith from the seat of political power. This would have implications for Her Majesty, the Queen, and could place her in a very difficult position as the chapel is a Royal Peculiar under her direct patronage.

As David Cameron knows, I am very suspicious that behind the plans to change the nature of marriage, which come before the House of Lords soon, there lurks an aggressive secularist and relativist approach towards an institution that has glued society together for time immemorial.

By dividing marriage into religious and civil the Government threatens the church and state link which they purport to support. But they also threaten to empty marriage of its fundamental religious and civic meaning as an institution orientated towards the upbringing of children.

If this is not enough, the legislation fails to provide any protection for religious believers in employment who cannot subscribe to the new meaning of marriage. There will be no exemptions for believers who are registrars. They can expect to be sacked if they cannot, in all conscience, support same-sex marriage.

Strong legal opinion also suggests that Christian teachers, who are required to teach about marriage, may face disciplinary action if they cannot express agreement with the new politically-correct orthodoxy.

The danger I believe that the Government is courting with its approach both to marriage and religious freedom, is the alienation of a large minority of people who only a few years ago would have been considered pillars of society.

Today’s ComRes poll suggests that more than three-quarters of Christians believe that the Government is not listening. More than half of Christians who backed the Conservatives in 2010 say they will ‘definitely not’ vote for the party in 2015.

This continues the breakdown in trust between politicians and the people they serve.

Among these people are very many volunteers, school governors and public servants. In their churches they provide soup kitchens and advice centres, and many other valuable initiatives. They are the ‘big society’ which David Cameron was advocating until recently.

The Government risks entrenching a very damaging division in British society by driving law-abiding Christians into the ranks of the malcontents and alienated – of whom there are already far too many. 

INTER-FAITH PROJECT IN AWARD JOY

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Inter-faith project in award joy

An inter-faith project to improve a neighbourhood in Oadby has been given an award in the House of Commons.

In October, volunteers from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and Sikh backgrounds took part in a project to plant bulbs and clear shrubs around Fludes Lane, in Oadby.

The project was organised by the St Philip's Centre in Evington, which works to bring the city's different religions together.

The work took part [sic] on Sewa Day, an international day of selfless giving and the organisers went to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pick up their Sewa Pioneers Award.

Riaz Ravat, deputy director of St Philip's Centre, said: "This award is a tribute to the many volunteers who put Leicester and Leicestershire on the map.

"Projects from across the globe were nominated for this important accolade and our volunteers showed once again that serving important causes can be done by working with people of all faith and belief backgrounds."

Rupa Kanabar, an Oadby resident who took part in the project, said: "Sewa Day has proved that by bringing all the communities together, we can really make the environment and our world a better place."

COUNCIL OF DHARMIC FAITHS UK FORMED

In a very interesting development for inter faith relations on a national level in the UK, a Council of Dharmic Faiths has been formed. In the presence of leading figures from the Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh communities, the Council of Dharmic Faiths was launched at the House of Commons on 16 May. Dharma is a word common to all the religions involved and has the meaning of righteous conduct or teaching. The Council of Dharmic Faiths has been established with the aim of encouraging friendship, goodwill, respect, equality and increased understanding within these communities, and between members of these communities and others in the UK. The Parsi (Zoroastrian) community has associate membership of the Council of Dharmic Faiths.

The launch event at the House of Commons marked the culmination of a process that has in its earlier stages seen the national circulation of a discussion paper in 2007 on the "Advancement of Dharma" for all major faith leaders in the UK, followed by the discussion of the desirability of a "Four Faiths Forum" for those religions which historically originated in India. Then there was a historic gathering of leaders of national faith organisations of the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain and Zoroastrian communities in Finchley at the end of March this year, where arrangements were finalised for the formation of the Council of Dharmic Faiths.

There are estimated to be more than one and a half million followers of Dharmic religions in the UK. The Council of Dharmic Faiths has been established with the intention of promoting education and training,offering advocacy, improving the quality of health and social welfare, encouraging appropriate recreational activities and preserving the cultural heritage and promoting the interests of these faith communities in the UK.

The elected Chair of the Council of Dharmic Faiths is Dr Natubhai Shah, who is certainly well known in Leicester. Dr Shah was a prime movers in the establishment of the Jain Centre here and was prominent in public inter faith work in the city when I arrived here in the late 1980s.

If anyone were to think of this as an odd or innovative development, I would say think of the Family of Abraham grouping, that we've been used to in the inter faith world for donkey's years. I'm impressed by this new Council's public denial of being a caucus of religions who share special interests or who feel the need to define themselves in contrast or opposition to any other grouping of faith communities or any one faith in particular.

The Council of Dharmic Faiths has its own Facebook page.

BREAK DOWN BARRIERS

This letter is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Break down barriers

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community staged a peace symposium in Leicester bringing together people of all faiths-and-none to promote peace.

We found plenty of common ground, much that we can build upon if only we come together and break down barriers.

As Ahmadis, we follow Islam purely as a religion of peace. It is hardwired into our very constitution and every single member of our community pledges to respect other people's views and beliefs; we pledge loyalty to the country we live in and to contribute positively to the communities in which we live. For us, Islam offers a perfect model for how to live our lives wherever we may be.

It is all so different to the public perception of Islam and the way extremists and some media distort perceptions of the vast majority of peace loving Muslims. Our motto of Love for All, Hatred for None is in stark contrast to messages of hate from extremists.

By getting together, you learn that most people, regardless of their faiths, subscribe to the same values of peace and aspire to a world where, as the Koran stipulates, there is no compulsion in religion.

And far from trying to change the world, you realise that by changing yourself, and taking practical steps to building peaceful communities, you are playing a part in changing the world.

That is why my community regularly engages in charity-giving as part of the faith, in exemplifying through our behaviour and actions that we stand for peace and equity. Even though in a world ravaged by conflict, the hopes of peace lovers almost seem forlorn, I am reminded of the insurmountable odds faced by the Prophets who succeeded even though all stood against them.

Ahmadis hold interfaith peace conferences across Britain to express our understanding of Islam as an inclusive, tolerant and universal faith. This was also cited in a recent Parliamentary debate where MPs extolled the contribution that Ahmadi Muslims had made to the fabric of life in Britain. As one of the oldest Muslim communities in Britain, it was heartening to hear a succession of MPs lauding the work of the Ahmadis.

Much work has been done in Leicester to break down barriers between faiths and this paper has played a major role in building community cohesion. As our peace symposium demonstrated, there are many people who want to build better communities divested of prejudice and strife.

Together, we can work to build on the foundations of peace and tolerance that must weather the storm of hate from zealots and extremists whether they claim to be of a religious or political motivation.

Ghulam Ahmed Khadim, regional missionary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association in Leicester