EVERYBODY WAS KUNG FU FIGHTING

Diversity comes in many forms. I do like to get a bit of everything on the blog that reflects the varied experience in and around Leicester. I was taken by surprise by an open-air Kung Fu lesson outside the Royal British Legion club in Wigston. And for diversity-upon-diversity, yes, there's a white Rastaman in there. That's not me he's up against - perish the thought. It was a little bit frightening; those cats were fast as lightning!

FIRST PERSON: DIVERSITY HAS ENRICHED CITY AND I'M PROUD TO LIVE HERE

Allan Hayes has written the First Person column in today's Leicester Mercury:

Diversity has enriched city and I'm proud to live here

Allan Hayes on the different religions in Leicester and why education is so important

It's time to tell people that we in Leicester, religious and non-religious, are one in humanity and that we are enriched by our diversity. We are fortunate in being able to say this from experience, from living together, from walking around, from travelling on the bus – we know what we are talking about.

I vividly remember arriving back from the United States to be greeted at Leicester station by a tall turbaned Sikh taxi driver with a "hello my friend, how do you like my new taxi?" and suddenly thinking, "I'm home".

A great deal is going into building this feeling of belonging.

Others will be able to add much more, but let me look back a little.

An Imam telling a group of us what Islam means to him and expressing his concern that Muslims should not isolate themselves; the launch of a book by a Jewish Quaker, proud of his Jewish heritage, and at the same time critical of Israeli policy towards Palestinians and seeking a just peace; a talk on the influence of Indian thoughts on Western thinking; an inside line, via my wife, to a campaign to stop the deportation of an asylum seeker mounted by Leicester City of Sanctuary (a great example of cooperation); an e-mail from a Sikh friend telling me that the Pope had said atheists like me might earn salvation through good works.

At the top of my concerns, however, is education: it can do so much to bring us together but it can also promote division.

Please, let us bring up our children together, let us bring them up knowing one another; learning to appreciate the long journey that we humans have taken together and that the human family includes us all: Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, humanist, atheist, whatever.

There is increasing realisation of the importance of this issue.

I have been pursuing it for a long time, recently at meetings in London and in Birmingham and on the web.

It will be taking up a lot of my time and effort in the coming year.

Recently, I told a humanist group in rural Dorset about how we do things in Leicester – I spoke with pride.

Allan Hayes is a board member of Leicester Secular Society

FIRST PERSON: SAY "NO MORE" TO THOSE WHO TRY TO DIVIDE

Suleman Nagdi has written the First Person column in today's Leicester Mercury:

Say "no more" to those who try to divide

Suleman Nagdi ways separation by faith or ethnic background must stop - for the good of us all

The message is simple and must be emphasised loud and clear. NO MORE. No more messages that seek to divide our communities. No more actions that promote hatred, division, prejudice and violence. No more attempts to isolate and scapegoat individuals and organisations for being “different”. No more attacks like the heinous murder of Lee Rigby, committed in cold blood in full horrific view of the passing public.

We must not view this incident as the concern of one community but as a concern for all as we work collectively to safeguard our communities against the evil of violent extremism. No more incidents of hate crime committed against innocent members of a community or faith group for the crimes perpetrated by others. No more racially-motivated murders of innocent elderly people, like 75-year-old grandfather Mohammed Saleem, who was murdered in cold blood in Birmingham. No more senseless attacks on religious places of worship, like the burning down of the Al-Rahmah Islamic centre in Muswell Hill, North London.
No more hurtful and unfounded attacks on our teachers and scholars who have worked for decades to educate communities to become upstanding, law-abiding citizens of Great Britain. No more compartmentalisation of crime where a crime committed by an individual or group from one faith or community is seen as worse than the same crime committed by others from a different faith or community. A crime is a crime, regardless of the identity of the criminal. Any individual or organisation that breaches the law of the land we all share must be dealt with by the full force of the law.

No more being duped by the dastardly motives of individuals and organisations intent on fostering hatred and misunderstanding. 

It is important we all recognise each other’s differences, heritage and rights and respect each other accordingly. We must work collectively against those seeking to disrupt community cohesion and also against those who break the law. No more of all of the above at a time when we are all faced with an economic crisis that is affecting millions of people and seems to continue with no end in sight and where so many, from a diverse range of ethnic and religious backgrounds, are suffering from hardship and poverty.

To see people becoming reliant on food banks is a tragic sight in 21st century Britain. No more should now mean no more. Let us all work together collectively and in harmony to rid our society of all acts of lawlessness in this most challenging of economic climates. 

Suleman Nagdi is a spokesman for the Federation of Muslim Organisations

COMMITMENT TO EQUALITY RESTATED

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury (but not on its website):

Commitment to equality restated

Civic leaders are to reaffirm their commitment to equality.

City Council leaders will meet at the Town Hall tomorrow to sign up to a range of actions designed to tackle inequality and celebrate Leicester's rich cultural mix.

Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said the new strategy would demonstrate the council's commitment to putting equality issues at the centre of all its work.

"We are rightly proud of, and celebrate, our city's diversity - and it's important we build on Leicester's strong reputation as a city where people from many different backgrounds live and work together," he said.

"This strategy will allow us to do that, by ensuring we consider the needs of our diverse population when we are making decisions about the services we provide."

Assistant Mayor Manjula Sood, who has responsibility for equality, said: "This strategy demonstrates how the council will put equality issues at the heart of what we do."

WE'VE MADE DIVERSITY OUR OFFICIAL CIVIC RELIGION IN LEICESTER

Ben Ravilious has written the First Person column in today's Leicester Mercury. The titles given to these articles on the Mercury website sometimes differ from that in the print version. On the website, this piece has the title, "We've made diveristy our officila civic religion in Leicester". I'm sticking with that here, since if anyone goes searching for this piece online, that's what they'll find.

This isn't an original piece that Ben has written for the Mercury. He wrote this as a post on his blog, Only in Leicester. The Mercury approached him and asked if he could adapt it for their First Person format.

The important thing is what diversity brings

The City of Culture bid must do more than just state Leicester has a diverse populatioon, says Ben Ravilious

I was delighted to learn the city mayor has given the green light to Leicester's City of Culture bid. However, I already have nagging doubts about the direction this might be taking.

It's the flogging of the word "diversity" that concerns me. We've made diversity our official civic religion in Leicester but I think we should place more emphasis on the ways in which we mix to give us the best chance of winning.

Let's be clear, my wife is of a different race, religion and nationality to me, we have two mixed-race daughters and my life is far richer as a result.

I also think it's essential to continue the battle for equality so everyone in Leicester can all feel equally represented and respected.

But diversity alone is just a statistic and having diversity doesn't necessarily mean harmony or cultural significance. It's what we do with it that counts.

Leicester has done something with it, demonstrated by the extent of blending, mixing and intermarriage.

This is something to celebrate because it's somewhat unique to Leicester and is a living testament to the community cohesion this city is rightly famous for.

I recently took my daughters to a Chinese New Year party at a schoolmate's house where all but one of the children was mixed-race.

Census data echoes this and it's high likely mixed-race people will one day become the majority in Leicester. Even our existing monocultural festivals, such as the Caribbean Carnival, Diwali and St George's Day, are becoming increasingly mixed events.

But mixing rarely gets much attention because it tends to happen quietly and without fanfare in our homes, workplaces and schools.

Also, the participants are not one single cultural or political group whose voices get heard.

I think we have a great chance of winning City of Culture but I think we need to do more than just celebrate our constituent ethnic groups (noble though that is) and put more emphasis on new, home-grown, hybrid and shared culture.

We should be uncovering and showcasing the culturally unique things our city has produced through cultural mixing or otherwise: the food, music, art, science, sport, business, language and humour.

Mixing in particular has brought us interfaith sport, stars such as Gok and Engelbert, English market traders who can speak Hindi, curry pubs, musicians such as Cornershop and Laurel Aitken and it sets the scene for completely unique new culture to develop.

Let's celebrate the fruits of diversity, not just the facts of it.

Ben Ravilious lives in Leicester and runs a web development company

FAITHS PANEL AT SOUTH LEICESTERSHIRE COLLEGE

It's Diversity Week at South Leicestershire College. Leicester Council of Faiths has been asked to make two contributions. On Thursday we'll be displaying our full range of pop-up banners for the whole day. Today, we're providing a "Faith Panel" to chat with staff and students.

Our panel is scheduled for lunchtime (1200-1400) so where better to set up than in the college cafeteria, which goes under the name of The Eating Place. This turns out to be an informal, easy-going couple of hours during which we get the chance to talk to a good number of interested (and interesting) people about our beliefs - and theirs.

I hope you can see our visit went well from the photo above: (at back) Helen Saunderson (Humanist); Kym Moore (staff member of SLC Equality & Diversity Group); Jan McDonald (Bahá'í); Sheila Markham (Leicester Hebrew Congregation); (in front) Brendan Grimley (Vocational Mentor, SLC staff); Zulqarnain Muhammad (staff member of SLC Equality & Diversity Group).

DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY INTER FAITH EVENT STEERING GROUP

The steering group working on De Montfort University's forthcoming event, "Celebrating Diversity on Campus: Religion or Belief Showcase" meets this morning  at the Eric Wood Building.

This event (scheduled for Wednesday 28 November) is promising to be something rather special. A variety of interesting activities is being proposed - and some of them aren't the kind you'd normally expect to find at a faith-based event. I'm not giving anything away just yet; you'll have to watch this space.

One of the key aspects to making this a success will be the matching up of faith groups among DMU students and staff with their counterparts in the wider community, out in the city in general. This might prove to be a bit trickier than it sounds and may require some considerable effort. It will be a worthwhile thing to do though, which will hopefully yield positive developments not only for this event but also in  future; so we'd better apply ourselves.

DIVERSITY EXISTS WTHOUT DIVINITY

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury (but not on its website):

Diversity exists without divinity

In his letter "Open your mind to a greater power" (August 11) Phil Dues asks us to open our spiritual eyes and wonder at the diversity of the world that we live in - animals, plants, trees, the sun and rain. He then suggests that these are proof than an omnipresent deity exists.

Al these essentials to life would of course exist without any divine assistance - in fact, without mankind's degradations they would all be healthier than they are now.

Finally, a question which I and many people have asked: Why does this all-seeing benevolent God allow tragic events such as natural disaster or innocent children to be killed? And please, spare me the usual platitudes about God working in mysterious ways. This tranlsates to me as "I don't know".

Don Tallis, Wigston

CITY'S DIVERSE COMMUNITIES ARE CELEBRATED IN VERSE

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

City's diverse communities are celebrated in verse

Ay up me duck you look so cold standing there so still.

Here's me in hat and scarf and gloves and yet I still feel chilled.

Mais oui, ma chère, though winter's here it's warmth that I perceive

For Leicester's been so welcoming to strangers such as me. 

From West Indian sunny isles to Africa's barren sands,

Across to where the Mughals ruled and the dragon's Eastern land,

We came with dreams, beliefs and faith and gratitude to you

For giving us a home, and hope for strength to start anew.

But mister, save your fancy words, there's two sides to this tale

For we have gained as much as you from this mega deal.

Caribbean Carnivals, the Golden Miles' Diwali Day,

Exotic fruit and veg to buy and the weekend's takeaway. 

Mon amie, it's more than that for Leicester above all others

Has formed a very special bond with its new-found brothers.

It's ethnic diversity brings a richness to the nation,

And it's multi-cultural harmony deserves a commendation.

Hey mate, you seem to know so much, are you a politician?

Your face is quite familiar – have you been on television?

Non, but as a founding father I've watched my 'child' with prideFrom my lofty stony tower with my three friends at my side.

Tom and Will and Gabriel, such superior City gents

And me – Simon de Montfort – call me Mr Parliament.

Dorothy Tomlinson, Leicester

WORLD DAY FOR CULTURAL DIVERSITY FOR DIALOGUE & DIVERSITY

Today is World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. Another one of these special annual occasions that I don’t know about till it happens. Even then, I only find out about this one from a single, solitary tweet. And this is another one of those special annual occasions that is relevant to the city and people of Leicester, to Leicester Council of Faiths and to my post. It would have been nice to mark it in some way here, if only by a letter in the Mercury.

Honestly, I simply can’t keep up with all this! I'll have no reason not to see it coming next year, I guess ...

World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development is annually held on May 21 to help people learn about the importance of cultural diversity and harmony.

Various events are organized to increase the understanding of issues around cultural diversity and development among governments, non-governmental organizations and the public. Many of these include presentations on the progress of implementing the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. Events include:

• Seminars for professionals.
• Educational programmes for children and young adolescents.
• The launch of collaborations between official agencies and ethnic groups.
• Exhibitions to help people understand the history of various cultural groups and the influence on their own identities.
• Celebrations to create greater awareness of cultural values and the need to preserve them.

The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development tends to be marked in countries that embraced their varied cultural history and acknowledged the importance of embracing it.

The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development is an observance and not a public holiday.

The General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) adopted the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity in Paris, France, on November 2, 2001. Although the declaration was the culmination of years of work, it was adopted in the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. This reaffirmed the need for intercultural dialogue to prevent segregation and fundamentalism.

The year 2002 was the United Nations Year for Cultural Heritage. At the end of that year, on December 20, 2002, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared May 21 to be the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. The General Assembly emphasized links between the protection of cultural diversity and the importance of dialogue between civilizations in the modern world. The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development was first observed in 2003.

Nobel chairman warns Europe's leaders over 'inflaming far-right sentiment'

From today's edition of The Observer:

Nobel chairman warns Europe's leaders over 'inflaming far-right sentiment'

Thorbjørn Jagland says Europe's leaders are 'playing with fire' if they use right-wing rhetoric when discussing multiculturalism

By Mark Townsend, Home Affairs Editor

Europe's leaders, including David Cameron, have been warned to adopt a more "cautious" approach when discussing multiculturalism. The Norwegian chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize committee has told them they risk inflaming far-right and anti-Muslim sentiment.

Thorbjørn Jagland, a former prime minister of his country, said leaders such as the British premier would be "playing with fire" if they continued to use rhetoric that could be exploited by extremists.

Four months ago in Munich, Cameron declared that state multiculturalism had failed in Britain, a view immediately praised by Nick Griffin, leader of the BNP, as "a further huge leap for our ideas into the political mainstream". Marine Le Pen, vice-president of the far-right National Front party in France, also endorsed Cameron's view of multiculturalism, claiming that it corroborated her own party's line.

Jagland's comments come in the wake of the Oslo bomb and the massacre on Utøya Island that left 77 people dead. The killer, Anders Behring Breivik, said he was inspired by the right-wing English Defence League. Breivik sent his manifesto, published online hours before the attacks, to about 250 British members of the BNP, the EDL and the Stop Islamisation of Europe group.

Jagland, who is also secretary general of the Council of Europe, told the Observer: "We have to be very careful how we are discussing these issues, what words are used.

"Political leaders have got to defend the fact that society has become more diverse. We have to defend the reality, otherwise we are going to get into a mess. I think political leaders have to send a clear message to embrace it and benefit from it.

"We should be very cautious now, we should not play with fire. Therefore I think the words we are using are very important because it can lead to much more."

Jagland has also urged leading politicians to change their terminology. He said the word "diversity" was better than multiculturalism because the latter had become defined in different ways by different groups. "We also need to stop using 'Islamic terrorism', which indicates that terrorism is about Islam. We should be saying that terrorism is terrorism and not linked to religion," said Jagland.

Over the years before his attacks, Breivik developed an ultra-radical stance that initially incorporated the forced repatriation of Muslims from Europe, but ultimately targeted Norway's centre-left government, which had encouraged multiculturalism. During his court appearance on terrorism charges, the 32-year-old said he had acted to prevent the "Muslim takeover" of Europe.

[...]

During Cameron's Munich speech, which combined a passage on terrorism with one on integration, the prime minister talked extensively about "Islamist extremism" as being the source of terrorism.

Breivik saw David Miliband, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair as worthy of assassination because, according to his 1,500-page manifesto, they had a "friendly attitude" to immigrants.

Jagland says he has sympathy with Cameron's attempt to robustly promote a shared set of British values as an alternative to multiculturalism, if not with his delivery. "We are not searching for a society where we have only different cultures. We also need to have something that holds us together, to respect common values," he said.

Jagland, who last year gave the Nobel peace prize to jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, who was represented by an empty chair at the ceremony in Oslo, added that the immigration debate also needed to be less negative.

HIDEOUSLY DIVERSE BRITAIN: FIGHTING EXTREMISM MADE EASY

From Hugh Muir's weekly column, Hideously Diverse Britain (in which he looks at diversity and race in Britain today), published in The Guardian's G2 section today.

Hideously diverse Britain: fighting extremism made easy

People who feel as if they are valued by society are far less vulnerable to radicalisation – somebody should tell the government

One of my bosses took a brutalist view of journalism. He would sit in meetings, distracted, desperate for something eye-catching on the other side of the window. And then, when the intellectual ping pong was slowing down, he would say: "Why don't we just get the facts and put them in the paper. It's not rocket science, is it?"

And he came to mind the other day as I waded through the government's new Prevent strategy for fighting extremism. Greater surveillance of universities, more intrusive surveillance of the internet as accessed in schools, libraries and colleges. No public funds for those who embrace the peddlers of doctrines that conflict with British values. Get tough and prevent the messages of radicalisation getting through to those who might be radicalised. Which makes some sense, I suppose. But wouldn't it make a lot more sense to try to find out why they might be vulnerable to radicalisation in the first place?

Here's a bit tucked away in the Home Office material. It describes what was said by focus groups. "The public generally recognise that everyone in society has a role in challenging extremism through their perception that building tolerance and integration across UK society is central to Prevent work. However, this is not top of mind for the audiences and a conclusion that is reached after detailed discussion only."

So we know the key issue is combating the alienation that makes people vulnerable to the doctrines of swivel-eyed halfwits. We know that if someone feels a valued part of society, they are less likely to tuck bolts and batteries and fertiliser into a rucksack. And we know that all the guff that says this is purely a problem for British Muslim communities — the "Oi, you, sort it out" approach – is just guff because "everyone in society has a role in challenging extremism", just as everyone in society has a role trying to combat knife crime in Black British communities and heroin smuggling involving members of the Turkish communities and the white-collar crimes of white British bankers. It's not "top of mind" but we know these are whole society problems requiring whole society solutions. It's not rocket science, is it?

ANTHONY WALKER FOUNDATION

These guys were having a ball (if you’ll pardon the pun – or should that be "puns"?) at the Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool, this evening. I don't think I'd heard of them before seeing this poster in the hotel, but having looked them up online, they should definitely be more widely known. So I thought it right and fair to big them up on here – they could hardly be more welcome on this blog!

The Anthony Walker Foundation (AWF) was established to eliminate racial discrimination within the community and create cultural harmony and awareness in young people by providing activities and access to resources to overcome such barriers. It seeks to organise a range of activities that promote community relations in young people in Liverpool and nationwide. This is done with particular focus on the integration of good race relations between people of all racial origins and particularly those who are disadvantaged, disaffected and socially excluded.

Lord Mayor's service celebrates "all faiths"

From today's Leicester Mercury:

Lord Mayor's service celebrates "all faiths"

City's diverse religions highlighted at annual civic ceremony

By Tom Mack

The new Lord Mayor of Leicester put religion in the spotlight yesterday with a service that embraced all faiths.

During the civic service, held each year at Leicester Cathedral  to welcome the new Lord Mayor into his or her post, Robert Wann read a passage from the Bible, and past Lord Mayor Manjula Sood read a prayer that was relevant to all religions.

In his sermon, Bishop of Leicester the Rt Rev Tim Stevens described Leicester as a city where "temples, mosques and gurdwaras punctuate the skyline, reminding us of the sacred links and shared aspirations of tens of thousands of its citizens".

He concluded by asking for God's blessing for Councillor Wann's work. Speaking after the event, Coun Wann said: "I thought it was an excellent service and the readings were very poignant. I'd been looking forward to it for a long time."

The Sikh High Sheriff of Leicestershire, Resham Singh Sandu, also attended.

He said: "It was a service for all faiths and people are here from all faiths – that's what Leicester is all about."

He added that he was planning to start a new tradition of the High Sheriff also having an annual service at Leicester Cathedral, and hoped to have one in September this year.

Councillor Sood, who is the chairman of the Leicester Council of Faiths, said: "The service was very moving and meaningful for the city. It was nice to have something for all the different faiths.

"The civic service is about everyone being together."

During his year in office, Coun Wann will be assisted by his chaplain, Canon Barry Naylor, who led yesterday's service with the Dean of Leicester Cathedral, Vivienne Faull.

Among the congregation were Ken and Eileen Coulson, from Glenfield.

Mr Coulson, 91, said: "It was great. I've been to a lot of the civic services because I'm in the Royal Marines Association and it's a very nice event."

Mrs Coulson, 88, said: "It was excellent. It was a different service because it was for the whole city, not just the people who were in the cathedral."

The previous Lord Mayor, Colin Hall, did not attend the civic service held for him last year.

He also banned the saying of prayers before full council meetings because he said it was outdated, but Coun Wann has revived the tradition.

Read this article, along with reader comments (and the opportunity to make your own) on the Leicester Mercury website: http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Lord-Mayor-s-service-celebrates-faiths/article-3607069-detail/article.html

JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES ON THE DOORSTEP

This morning, there's a knock on the door from two Jehovah's Witnesses, two very nice ladies named Annette and Kelsey. I get the chance to talk with them about some of the work Leicester Council of Faiths is doing with the diverse faith communities in the city and ways in which local Jehovah's Witnesses might get involved.

The most relevant one would be the projects coordinating with Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. One is a set of guidelines regarding first presentation or admission from patients of different backgrounds, beliefs, practices or traditions; the other is the Faith Communities Health Champions Initiative.

They sound interested and ask me to step out into the street to talk with Steve, one of their elders who is out with them today. He's going to pass my card on to their local Hospital Liaison Committee and ask them to get in touch with me.

Steve and I talk for a few minutes about their local congregation, which sounds like it reflects the diversity of Leicester in miniature. I'd like the chance to meet with them and do a little feature about their community for the blog.

Thanks Steve, Kelsey and Annette - I'm looking forward to meeting you all again and making something positive come out of this serendipitous contact!

PERSECUTED FOR HIS CROSS

Front page story from today's Mail on Sunday (covering quite some space inside too), reproduced here in full (minus a few photographs that can be seen if you visit the Mail's website and see the whole article there):

Persecuted for his cross: Electrician told he faces the sack for Christian symbol on his van dashboard

by Jonathan Petre

An electrician faces the sack for displaying a small palm cross on the dashboard of his company van.

Former soldier Colin Atkinson has been summoned to a disciplinary hearing by the giant housing association where he has been employed for 15 years because he refuses to remove the symbol.

Mr Atkinson, a regular worshipper at church, said: “The treatment of Christians in this country is becoming diabolical...but I will stand up for my faith.”

Throughout his time at work, he has had an 8in-long cross made from woven palm leaves attached to the dashboard shelf below his windscreen without receiving a single complaint.

But his bosses at publicly funded Wakefield and District Housing (WDH) in West Yorkshire – the fifth-biggest housing organisation in England – have demanded he remove the cross on the grounds it may offend people or suggest the organisation is Christian. Mr Atkinson’s union representative said he faces a full disciplinary hearing next month for gross misconduct, which could result in dismissal.

The association strongly promotes “inclusive” policies and allows employees to wear religious symbols at work.

It has provided stalls at gay pride events, held “diversity days” for travellers, and hosted a gender reassignment event entitled A World That Includes Transpeople.

Mr Atkinson, who has an unblemished work record, said he had not been shown similar respect.

“The past few months have been unbelievable, a nightmare,” he said.

“I have worked in the coal mines and served in the Army in Northern Ireland and I have never suffered such stress. The treatment of Christians in this country is becoming diabolical. It is political correctness taken to the extreme.”

But he added: “I have never been so full of resolve. I am determined to stand up for my rights. If they sack me, so be it. But I am standing up for my faith.”

Mr Atkinson’s battle follows a series of similar cases involving Christians who claim their freedoms have been curbed following the introduction of controversial equality laws.

Campaigners accused the housing association of “remarkable intolerance” at a time when millions of Christians will be celebrating Palm Sunday today, a week before Easter Sunday. Palms are traditionally distributed during services to mark Christ’s triumphal entrance into Jerusalem.

Despite the company’s treatment of Mr Atkinson, the boss of the depot where he works in Castleford has been allowed to adorn his office with a poster of the Argentinian revolutionary Che Guevara.

Denis Doody, who is WDH’s environmental manager, also has a whiteboard on which are written several quotations by the Marxist guerrilla leader, who was a key figure in the Cuban revolution in the Fifties.

Colleagues said staff and even members of the public who were visiting the depot would be able to see the poster and whiteboard through his office window.

Mr Atkinson began work as an electrician in the mines before serving as an Army radio technician for seven years. His military career included a stint at the notorious, riot-torn Long Kesh internment camp in Northern Ireland in 1974.

He was employed as a £25,000-a-year electrician by Wakefield Council in 1996, but its housing department was transferred into the association’s ownership six years ago.

His ordeal began last year when managers at WDH, which has 31,000 properties, told Mr Atkinson to remove the cross from the van after years of ignoring it.

He demanded to know why. He said his cross was as discreet and inoffensive as other forms of religious expression and accused his bosses of badgering him.

The company said, however, that he had refused a “reasonable” request to remove the symbol from an official vehicle that could be seen by members of the public.

The 64-year-old grandfather became a committed Christian more than 20 years ago and was a regular Church of England worshipper for many years.

He and his second wife Geraldine, 61, who have five children from previous marriages and three grandchildren, now attend the Pentecostal Destiny Church in Wakefield.

The softly spoken electrician said he never pushed his beliefs on other people but would gently explain his faith to anyone who enquired.

Mr Atkinson said: “Over the years, members of the public would occasionally spot the cross and ask me about it. I suppose this might happen a couple of times a year, though I don’t think I have had anyone enquiring about it in the past couple of years.

“If people raised it, I would ask them if they could spare two minutes and tell them. I never had an adverse reaction or complaint.”

He said he had kept palm crosses ever since he was given one at a Palm Sunday service more than 20 years ago, and replaced them when they fell apart.

“I’m just an ordinary bloke. I get on with people and have many friends of other faiths, including a Sikh and a Hindu who both came and spoke up for me at one of the meetings I’ve had with managers about this.

“Christians are called to be public in our faith, and the cross is my way of being obedient to that call. It brings me peace and strength. It is a central part of who I am and I can’t hide it away.”

In 2009, Mr Atkinson switched to a three-day-a-week training post overseeing apprentices so he could spend more time caring for his sick wife.

He said that although his new role meant he spent more time in the office, he was approached by a line manager who asked him to remove the cross from his van.

Over the following weeks, Mr Atkinson was subjected to further requests from several different managers, but he demanded to speak to more senior bosses.

He said: “They would take me to one side and say I had to get rid of it. For weeks I didn’t know where all this was coming from.

“Then a colleague who had overheard a conversation tipped me off that there had been an anonymous letter complaining about misuse of the van and mentioning the cross. It was a malicious letter full of scurrilous lies and the company never pursued the claims. But it used the letter to raise the issue of the cross.

“I felt I was being badgered, so I complained that I was being harassed because of my faith.”

In a series of meetings last year, Mr Atkinson and his Unite union representative, Terry Cunliffe, argued that there was nothing in the rules explicitly prohibiting the cross, which had been accepted for years.

Transcripts of meetings show they strongly disputed the company’s claim that the cross could offend someone, or that anyone who saw it in the van – one of the company’s 280 vehicles – would conclude that the association was Christian.

Mr Cunliffe said at one meeting: “What if there were political or religious documents on the dashboard? Would it look like they were WDH’s? A cross on the side of a building would reflect on WDH. A cross displayed in the front of a vehicle would be, in my opinion, a reflection of the person driving.”

But the company’s equality and diversity manager, Jayne O’Connell, who was recruited from HBoS bank in 2009, replied: “WDH has a stance of neutrality. We now have different faiths, new emerging cultures. We have to be respectful of all views and beliefs.”

HBoS became part of Lloyds Banking Group after it almost collapsed in late 2008.

At another meeting, Ms O’Connell said Mr Atkinson could express his faith but “it is quite clear it cannot be associated with WDH and displaying the cross gives the impression that WDH is a Christian organisation".

She said staff could demonstrate their personal beliefs “discreetly”, even adding that the company could provide extra material in its official corporate colours “for employees who wish to wear a different style of uniform".

Pressed by Mr Cunliffe on whether a Muslim woman who wore a burka at work would be considered discreet, she said: “If they could do their job effectively, then yes.”

Asked whether she would think a burka in WDH corporate colours was discreet, Ms O’Connell replied: “Yes, it would be.”

Mr Atkinson, who has been advised by human rights lawyer Paul Diamond, said he had been “flabbergasted” when his grievances were rejected and he was told he could be disciplined.

In December, the company, which had earlier admitted that its policy on vehicles was unclear, issued an “updated” policy saying that all personal symbols should be removed from vans.

Mr Atkinson said: “I can’t come to any other conclusion than that they moved the goalposts so they could single me out. I felt I was on trial for my faith.”

Since the policy was updated, he has been summoned to a series of preliminary disciplinary investigations, the latest of which was last week. At the end of that meeting he was told that managers would hold a full disciplinary hearing in May.

Mr Cunliffe said: “Colin has been told to attend a full disciplinary hearing next month. Under company rules, refusing a 'reasonable' management request is gross misconduct, which can result in summary dismissal.”

Speaking at his neat terrace house in Wakefield – where there is little evidence of his strong faith except for a Christian fish symbol alongside an array of family photographs – Mr Atkinson said he had suffered sleepless nights and had occasionally been reduced to tears.

He said his wife, who suffers from a muscular disease that has often confined her to a wheelchair, had also suffered from stress.

He added: “I found the meetings intimidating and a bit confrontational. I felt on the defensive. I came out thinking, “‘Why should I be on the defensive?’’

“I have, however, received overwhelming support from friends and rank-and-file colleagues, which has given me strength.

“I can only think the company is motivated by fear of offending ethnic minorities.”

Andrea Williams, of the Christian Legal Centre, which is backing Mr Atkinson, said: “Colin Atkinson is a decent and hard-working man, yet after many years of service he has been told he cannot continue to have a small palm cross in his van.

“This smacks of something deeply illiberal and remarkably intolerant. Is this the kind of society the British public want to live in?

“The cross is a profound symbol of God’s love for all of us. We should not be embarrassed about it.”

Mr Cunliffe said his union abhorred any form of discrimination, but the association was “taking its politically correct policies far too far".

He said: “The company is using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It is totally disproportionate that someone should face dismissal for displaying a discreet religious symbol.

“It will rebound on the company because the treatment of Colin will deeply upset people of other faiths who have no problem with his cross.”

Wakefield District Housing said: “We do not allow employees to display any personal representations in our vehicles, although they are free to do so upon their person.

“It would be inappropriate to comment further about this individual case.”

The association had a turnover of £106 million in the financial year to the end of March 2010. The chief executive is Kevin Dodd, who earns £157,000 a year.

A 2009 report revealed that the association staged a number of diversity days for employees and tenants. Sessions have been led by groups including Women In Construction, Mental Health Matters and The Leeds Gypsy and Travellers Group. The imam from Wakefield Central Mosque has also been involved.

The company also produces an intranet calendar for employees that shows religious festivals and celebrations.

It said it aims to “influence the embedding of diversity and inclusion best practice with all policies, processes and procedures to ensure WDH maximises the potential of all our employees and customers”.

In a survey for the company’s 2010 annual report, more than half of its tenants – 51 per cent – said they were Christian, while just half a per cent described themselves as Muslim.

Of the rest, 17 per cent said they were of no faith, 30 per cent failed or refused to supply an answer, and the remainder were “spiritualist” or “other”.

WIKILEAKS ON LEICESTER

There's so much stuff pouring out of WikiLeaks that it's not surprising Leicester is mentioned. Sooner or later, it seems like just about everywhere, everything (and everyone?) will be.

I get into the office late, after a day of meetings out, to find a phone message left by Neil Tweedie, from The Daily Telegraph. He asks if we would contact him urgently. I do, just after 1600. Neil tells me that he's been hoping to get someone from Leicester to comment on a document released by Wikileaks, in which a US State Department official reported on a visit to Leicester, giving her impression about the city's Muslim population.

Since leaving his message, Neil has spoken with someone at the Federation of Muslim Organisations, But I can't let the opportunity pass without saying that I'll get him some comment which they can publish in our Chair's name. And here it is, as sent to Neil within the next couple of hours:

"In Leicester, we're used to being the focus of attention for visitors, observers and commentators from all over the world. Hardly a week goes by without some individual or group contacting us (or some other agency working for community cohesion in the city) with an eye to seeing what's going on here - and this has included journalists from the US. We'd never claim to be perfect, or to have solved the issues that come with being a diverse city, but people here are genuinely trying to make things work out for the good of all. The thing that makes this matter newsworthy, of course, is its connection with WikiLeaks. But helping the different communities within the city of Leicester live and work side by side is an ongoing activity from which we can never really take a break, or say that it's been achieved once and for all."

Cllr Manjula Sood, Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths, was the first Asian woman Lord Mayor in Britain. She was featured on the front page of The Daily Telegraph in March 2009, when Leicester hosted a homecoming parade for British Service personnel returning from active service in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our parade was free of the kind of protests that marred similar events in some other British cities at the time.

Neil tells me that the story will be published in tomorrow (Sat 5 Feb). In the event, it doesn't appear - lots of space is devoted to the Prime Minister's declaration of his "war on multiculturalism", so I'm not surprised if some other issues have to move aside to make space for this.

The latest development in the Wikileaks story is that it has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

For a more skeptical view of cultural diversity in "One Leicester", read Ed West, writing on the Telegraph blog.

DAVID LYNCH'S DIVERSITY TWEET

I don't normally copy things from those I follow on Twitter onto this blog. That would be such a lazy way to fill it, and I'm lazy enough - I wouldn't want to encourage myself. However, today the "maverick" American film maker and painter (and most other things you could name) David Lynch tweeted the following, which I thought nice and succinct (hey, it's Twitter!) and eminently quotable here:

The world is filled with diversity and there really is beauty in all of it.

I'm definitely going to keep that quote and want to find other ways of using it.