FAITHS COME TOGETHER FOR SYRIA APPEAL

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Faiths come together for Syria appeal

A toy collection is being held for children affected by the conflict in Syria.

Sharen Ravat, chaplaincy service manager at Leicester College, will be holding a drop-in session for members of the public to hand over unwanted or unused toys on Sunday, August 4, from 1pm to 5pm at St Philip's Church in Evington Road, Leicester.

Many different faith communities have already pledged support, including Leicester Islamic Centre, Leicester Cathedral, Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara and the Sikh Cultural and Welfare Society.

The toys will be given to the UK charity Hand in Hand for Syria, which will then distribute them at hospitals in the war-torn country.

Sharen said: "I decided to organise the campaign after being touched by the plight of children in Syria, many of whom have lost their loved ones, been injured, made homeless or just lost hope.

"The UN has already said that the Syrian refugee crisis is the worst since Rwanda with an average of 6,000 people fleeing every day.

"I am hoping that by offering toys to children, it puts an immediate smile on their faces."

For more information, call Sharen on 07919 290 313.

HUNDREDS CELEBRATE BIRTH OF THE PROPHET

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Hundreds celebrate birth of the Prophet

Nearly 2,000 Muslims took part in a procession to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad.

The Milad Un-Nabi celebration took place in Leicester on Sunday.

The procession started with prayers at the Islamic Centre in St Peter's Road and followed a long route through the city, despite persistent snow, to the Central Mosque, in Conduit Street. It was followed by a meal for 3,000 people.

Organiser Mustafa Malik Salim said: "It was a very peaceful procession with between 1,500 and 2,000 people.

"The procession was held on the Sunday nearest the birthday, on Thursday."

Malik Salim, chairman of the committee in charge of the Islamic Centre and Central Mosque, said: "After the procession, 3,000 people sat down to a meal.

"It was a joyful and peaceful event."

HUNDREDS IN US FILM PROTEST

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

 

Hundreds in US film protest

Hundreds of Muslims took to the streets of Leicester yesterday to protest at a controversial American film.

Roads were closed off as the protestors congregated outside the Central Mosque, in Conduit Street, at 2.30pm, to complain about the amateur film Innocence of Muslims.

The 400 protestors, many carrying placards, listened to imams from mosques throughout the city condemn the film at the peaceful 30-minute outdoor meeting.

The film denigrating the Prophet Mohammed has sparked unrest in many parts of the Muslim world over the past 10 days, and the deaths of at least 33 people, including the US ambassador to Libya, have been linked to the violence.

Much of the anger has been directed at the US government, even though the film was privately produced in the US and American officials have criticised it for insulting Muslims.

At yesterday's Leicester protest, Mahommed Machar, 24, of Evington, said: "I felt it was important for me to be here.

"I have come down to register my protest against this film and its message. The film is abusing the freedom of speech, not upholding it."

Mohammed Ayub, 43, of Evington, said it was vital to get across the message about non-violence.

He said: "This is the way to protest, not to resort to violence. You can tell by the numbers of people here today, the strength of feeling about this film here in the city of Leicester."

Maulana Shahid Raza OBE, head imam of the Islamic Centre, said the film had caused global unrest in the Muslim world.

He said: "The film is the worst possible violation of freedom of expression.

"We firmly believe that Prophet Mohammed always taught and practiced peace and tolerance and throughout his life he always upheld universal human values.

"To depict him as a violent extremist is disgusting and reprehensible.

"Muslims consider it a gross insult to the Prophet and we call upon all faith leaders to condemn this unjustified action and show their solidarity with the Muslim world in respect of safeguarding the honour and sanctity of all faiths and their founders."

Malik M Salim MBE, chairman of the Islamic Centre, appealed to the Muslim community to remain calm.

He said: "We would like to record the protest and wish to communicate to those extremists that the hatred of Islam through such movies would not harm the great personality of the Prophet or any aspect of Islam, but would only backfire on the people who spread venomous ideas."

Inspector Chris Cockerill, responsible for policing the event, said the protest had passed off peacefully.

He said: "We work closely with the Central Mosque and have done so concerning this event.

"It is part of our duty to ensure that people can take part in a peaceful protest and that is what we had here in Leicester."

Once the meeting was over, the road blocks were lifted.

LEICESTER SECULAR SOCIETY URGES NON-BELIEVERS TO MAKE MARK ON CENSUS

As the 2011 Census approaches, more entries will appear in this blog about the religious dimension. The following article is published in today's Leicester Mercury.

Leicester Secular Society urges non-believers to make mark on census 

By Laura Elvin

People who claim to be Christian when they do not practise the religion are creating a "misleading" picture of Britain, it has been claimed.

Leicester Secular Society is calling for non-believers to tick the 'no religion' box on this year's census.

The society says that during the 2001 census, many people felt compelled to answer 'Christian' when it came to their religious belief, either out of habit or because they felt they ought to.

But it says that doing so leads to inaccurate figures, which are then used to justify policies that "do not reflect the real demographics of our society".

Emma Chung is the new president of the society, which calls for the separation of church and the state.

She said: "The last census disproportionately shows Christians as the majority but we actually think it is much, much lower."

"We want people to think before they answer the question, and make sure they are not ticking 'Christian' just out of habit, or because they feel they should.

"People might tick it because they associate being Christian with being moral, but actually they don't go to church and don't believe in God."

She added: "Misleading statistics are used to support policies that entrench religious privilege and increase discrimination on grounds of religion in our society. Which box you tick on the census form may seem trivial, but the results do make a difference to public policy.

"For example, a tick in the 'Christian' box rather than the 'No religion' box will contribute to data used to justify an increase in the number of 'faith' schools, the public funding of religious groups and the continuation of compulsory worship in schools.

"It is used to justify these and a whole host of other such policies that are damaging, divisive and, importantly, do not reflect the real demographics of our society."

The society is raising £1,000 to pay for posters to raise awareness of its campaign, called For God's Sake Say No, that will appear on buses in Leicester.

Canon Barry Naylor, urban canon at Leicester Cathedral, said he supported the call, but added it was "nonsense" that people felt pressurised into ticking 'Christian' on census forms.

He said: "If people take the census seriously, I would hope they would tick the Christian box if they are a Christian and the no religion box if they aren't religious.

"Part of participating in a democratic society is having a true picture of what people believe.

"The idea that people tick Christian because they feel they should, however, is a load of nonsense.

"That may be the case if they had someone looking over their shoulder, or maybe years and years ago, but not now.

"Also, I think that the idea that someone is not Christian because they don't come to church is not right either.

"Just because they only come at Easter and Christmas does not invalidate the fact they are Christian."

Malik Salim, chairman of Leicester's Islamic Centre, in Conduit Street, in the city centre, said: "We are of the view that everybody has a right to be able to speak publicly about their view or religion.

"We equally respect believers and non-believers. We are quite happy that people express their views."

The census begins on March 27.

"WOMEN-FRIENDLY" MOSQUES PRAISED

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

"Women-friendly" mosques praised

Two mosques have been included in a UK directory of "women-friendly" Islamic places of worship.

Both in the Highfields area of the city, they were highlighted in a report published yesterday by Faith Matters, a national group which aims to build bridges between faith groups and to improve the position of women in Islam.

The group's researchers asked mosques across the country whether they provided space for women to pray, services such as childcare, access to an imam or female scholar, a role in decision-making and positions within the mosque's governing committee.

The Islamic and Community Centre, in Conduit Street received the maximum five-star grading because it satisfied all five criteria.

The Leicester Mosque and Islamic Centre in Sutherland Street was awarded four stars, dropping down a grade because it did not have any females on its governing body.

The report author stressed the list was only a guide to "good practice" because only around 500 of the UK's estimated 4,500 mosques were asked to take part in the research.

Fiyaz Mughal, founder of Faith Matters, said: "Such is the nature of the work, some individuals will be unhappy that their mosque wasn't included.

"It's not to say these are the only 100, but that they provide a snapshot of the ones who are providing these core areas.

"The long-term view is for other mosques and religious institutions to see the need for good service delivery and, within that, the importance of serving half of the population in the best possible way."

Sughra Ahmed, a research fellow in the policy research centre at the Islamic Foundation, in Markfield, said: "Reports like this are a good start in exploring the whole area of mosques. It's good to see mosques being appreciated for the work they are doing, but there is more work to be done."

Suleman Nagdi, spokesman for the Leicestershire Federation of Muslim Organisations, which represents the majority of mosques in the city and county, said: "There are more than two in Leicester which would satisfy these criteria and I have never come across any mosque that says 'we should exclude women'.

"Some places of worship have restrictions on space because of the size of the building, for example, but overall this is still a good debate to have."

The Faith Matters research was supported by the Department of Communities and Local Government.