A quick wave

At the Welcome Centre this afternoon, I get a call from Sam Newton, editor of the Leicester Wave, the young people's paper that's distributed free with the Leicester Mercury once a month. They gave us a great front page feature during National Inter Faith Week in November last year.

Sam tells me that they're intending to do a feature on young Muslim women and the burka; would the Council of Faiths be interested in lending them a hand with this? Of course we would. I offer a few suggestions how we might approach the subject. We seem in general agreement and make arrangements to start moving this potential feature on at the start of next week.

Why religion shouldn't enjoy special favour

Today's Leicester Mercury carries the final "First Person" column by Allan Haye, in his capacity as Humanist Chaplain to the Lord Mayor of Leicester.

I've enjoyed his contributions to the ongoing conversation of the city through these columns - indeed, I've posted most of them here. I can't say I've agreed with everything he's said in his columns, but I've tried to represent him uncensored here - and largely without making intrusive comments of my own, either in the blog or the printed or online editions of the Leicester Mercury.

On the occasions when Allan and I have discussed the merits of him having his own blog, he's said that he doesn't really see the point when I'm doing such a good job of representing his views in mine!

Maybe I should say that I've agreed with him more often than not - and that I agree with virtually everything he has to say in this final piece.

I'm sure it's not the last we'll hear from Allan (who is a director of Leicester Secular Society) in the pages of the Mercury. I look forward to meeting him again at the various places and events where our paths tend to cross: Amplifed Leicester; SACRE; Christians Aware Faith Awareness courses at Christchurch, Clarendon Park Road; and at Philosophy in the Pub at the Swan and Rushes.

Why religion shouldn't enjoy special favour 

Allan Hayes reflects on his year as humanist chaplain to the Lord Mayor of Leicester 

My year as Chaplain to the Lord Mayor has been an interesting and rewarding experience; meeting people from different communities has been a particular pleasure. The year started with some tension over the Civic Service in the cathedral. It proved impossible to agree on a way that I as a humanist could give a short address in what was a Christian service. As a consequence the Lord Mayor, the Lady Mayoress and I felt unable to attend the event. 

The same problem could arise for any other non-Christian chaplain. This raises the obvious question: in a diverse city with people from a variety of religions and with many who do not belong to a religion, shouldn't a civic event be one in which we can all feel part and to which we can all contribute – a celebration of today's Leicester for all by all? I think so. 

I have tried to encourage dialogue and improve understanding by my letters and other activities. I am grateful to the Mercury for carrying these and to individuals and organisations that have helped. 

During the year there have been repeated attempts to pin words like "aggressive", "extreme" and "militant" on secularists and atheists and accuse them of trying to exclude religion from the public space: this is a dangerous tactic, but fortunately, we have largely avoided it in Leicester.

Secularists recognise that religions are important to many and should contribute to the public debate, but insist that this must be done openly and through the normal democratic process: religions should not be embedded in the state structure or specially privileged. We are joined in this view by many within the religions who favour a secular state.

However, while pursuing dialogue and understanding, we should not overlook the facts that are being created on the ground.

The urgent issue now to my mind is whether our schools will help our children grow up together or will separate them by religion. The new free schools can be proposed by a local group or an outside body and be approved by the Secretary of State with very little local consultation. For a start, a Hindu free school, eventually to take 420 pupils, is opening in Evington in September next to St Paul's Roman Catholic school. I am told that other free faith schools are being proposed in the city. Change could come quickly and could damage both community schools and social cohesion. My experience as humanist representative on the Leicester Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) shows me that most families are very happy with how our community schools deal with religion. I would ask that if they hear of proposals for faith schools they get in touch with local head teachers and discuss the situation.

 Read this article on the Leicester Mercury website, along with reader comments: http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/religion-shouldn-t-enjoy-special-favour/article-3525744-detail/article.html

MEETING AT ST JOHN'S HOUSE

Meeting this morning at St John's House, East Street, with Abida Hussain, Equality and Human Rights Officer at Leicestership Partnership NHS Trust.


I'm accompanied by Rosemarie Fitton, who's shadowing me as part of a 30 hour placement required on her MA course in interreligious relations with De Montfort University (through St Philip's Centre for Study and Engagement in a Multi Faith Society). Rosemarie and I meet at Coast Coffee in London Road half an hour before the appointment at St John's House, so I can brief her on relations between Leicester Council of Faiths and the NHS locally. Briefly, we have a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the local NHS which requires us to do certain pieces of work for them each year. The meeting today is to review progress on that work.


The main thing we're looking at today is the text of a booklet entitled, "Health Care in a Multi-Cultural Multi-Faith Society". This was given to me in the form of a small ring binder with laminated pages, with "Draft - field trial" printed on the fist page. No one seemed to know where this booklet originated or if it's been trialled anywhere except here. It seemed a good practical piece of work for us to do in the context of our SLA. With the help of contacts within the faith communities and some original research, I've been amending the text of this booklet, making it more specific to the needs of Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (which coves the city of Leicester, the county of Leicestershire and Rutland Unitary Authority).


I emailed Abida the text of a revised version of this booklet in advance of today's meeting (not very far in advance, but all the same ...). I think it's in a reasonable state in terms of the eight member communities on Leicester Council of Faiths, but still I need to finalise copy for other groups included in the original booklet (e.g. Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Rastafarians, Seventh Day Adventists, Spiritualists).  The original has three entries for Agnosticism, Atheism and Humanism, which I'll roll into one (under the title of the last of these three). There are another couple of groups that I'd like to include (Pagans, Zoroastrians). The original booklet has sections on groups that don't stand out as being faith communities (Chinese, New Age Travellers). If I can find ways to make them fit, I will.


The draft booklet opens by stating that it contains "Simplified guidelines to help medical and nursing staff in the care of patients from many different parts of the world". I don't think that gets it off to a very good start, making it sound like everyone who presents for treatment in local hospitals comes from another country. It doesn't acknowledge or recognise that settled communities, established for generations are part and parcel of our society. Furthermore, the guidelines seem more about avoiding the negative - trying not to upset patients and their families - than on celebrating the positive aspects of diversity. So my work on this booklet is not only checking facts, ensuring equality and consistency of treatment, but also changing the tone.


Abida's going to circulate the text among her team and ask for their feedback. I'l take whatever they have to say about it and see how that reflects on our own sources - and whether that can help me improve them. I'm hoping we can establish a virtuous circle!


We discuss how to make progress on the Faith Community Health Champions initiative, which we've been mulling over for a number of months now. We both come up with ideas for this that leave us positive and excited.


Other work fitting in with our SLA is discussed. If you'd like to know what they involve, faithful reader, then I have to say, "Watch this space!"


Hang on in there Rosemarie: only 26 hours to go!

May the fourth be with you

From time to time, this blog mentions special days in the calendars of the various religions, or notes particular occasions throughout the year when something special brings different faiths together – World Religion Day, Earth Day etc.

Today has become known as Star Wars day, for obvious reasons. You can check it out on Wookieepedia: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars_Day

Those who entered "Jedi Knight" in the religion section of the 2001 Census were consigned en masse to the "No religion" category. Back then, an internet campaign encouraged people to write in “Jedi” as their religion. An email supporting the campaign urged people to declare themselves as Jedi knights, “because you love Star Wars ... or just to annoy people.” This was included in a feature on the BBC national news, the night before the 2001 Census. That probably bumped up the number a bit: 390,000 people in England and Wales did so (0.7% of population). That’s greater than national figures for these recognised faiths:

·         Baha’i 5,000 (>0.01% of population)

·         Buddhist 144,453 (0.3% of population)

·         Jain 15,000 (0.03% of population)

·         Jewish 259,927 (0.5% of population)

·         Sikh 329,358 (0.6% of population)

In Leicester 2,371 people wrote in “Jedi” as their religion in the 2001 Census. that was 0.8% of the city's population.

Now: whenever I meet someone who states proudly that they’re one of those who put their religion as “Jedi” in the 2001 Census, I tell them that if they can show me a Jedi trick, I’ll convert to it – in fact, I’ll do better than that, I’ll become their Padawan learner. Hasn’t happened – yet.

Mind you, I don’t see the point in giving people the right to declare their religious affiliation, even giving them the freedom to write in the religion of their choice, but then the government gets to say, “No, we’re not having that.”

It will be interesting to see how many people identifed themselves as Jedi in the 2011 Census. I'd predict that the number will have dropped considerably but we'll have to wait and see to what extent it was a jok or a fad - and how many have stuck with it.

There's a myth that if enough people write in something (just about anything) in the "other" section of that religion question, then the government would be compelled to classify it as a religion. There was a fiarly low key campaign this time to get Manchester United fans to put that as their religion.

Here’s a link to one of the first widespread stories about the Jedi as a religion in this country, published in the free daily paper. I searched it out on the Metro website, where the date isn’t displayed, but I recall it being some time in the summer of 2008. I’m unable to copy the text from the website but here’s the link: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/84822-brothers-build-jedi-church-in-wales

It’s not so much the article itself that I liked, so much as a reader’s response in the letters page a couple of days later. The text of that letter isn’t available online and I didn’t keep a copy. But it said something along the following lines: the writer was sorry to see the disparaging attitude that the paper appeared to be taking toward the establishment of the first Jedi church, objecting that it was male dominated, hierarchical, celebrated violence and based on a work of fiction. The writer asked, “Aren’t they all?”

Here’s an article I did manage to keep though, which was published in The Guardian, Saturday 19 September 2009.

Jedi religion founder accuses Tesco of discrimination over rules on hoods

Daniel Jones says he was humiliated and victimised for his beliefs following incident at store in Wales

By Helen Carter

Tesco has been accused of religious discrimination after the company ordered the founder of a Jedi religion to remove his hood or leave a branch of the supermarket in north Wales.

Daniel Jones, founder of the religion inspired by the Star Wars films, says he was humiliated and victimised for his beliefs following the incident at a Tesco store in Bangor.

The 23-year-old, who founded the International Church of Jediism, which has 500,000 followers worldwide, was told the hood flouted store rules.

But the grocery empire struck back, claiming that the three best known Jedi Knights in the Star Wars movies – Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker– all appeared in public without their hoods. Jones, from Holyhead, who is known by the Jedi name Morda Hehol, said his religion dictated that he should wear the hood in public places and is considering legal action against the chain.

"It states in our Jedi doctrination that I can wear headwear. It just covers the back of my head," he said.

"You have a choice of wearing headwear in your home or at work but you have to wear a cover for your head when you are in public."

He said he'd gone to the store to buy something to eat during his lunch break when staff approached him and ordered him to the checkout where they explained he would have to remove the offending hood or leave the store.

"They said: 'Take it off'', and I said: 'No, it’s part of my religion. It's part of my religious right.' I gave them a Jedi church business card.

"They weren't listening to me and were rude. They had three people around me. It was intimidating." Jones, who has made an official complaint to Tesco, is considering a boycott of the store and is seeking legal advice.

Tesco said: "He hasn't been banned. Jedis are very welcome to shop in our stores although we would ask them to remove their hoods.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Luke Skywalker all appeared hoodless without ever going over to the Dark Side and we are only aware of the Emperor as one who never removed his hood.

"If Jedi walk around our stores with their hoods on, they'll miss lots of special offers."

Read this article on The Guardian website, along with reader comments: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/18/jedi-religion-tesco-hood-jones

This week's visitors

Here's the update on the number of pageviews the blog has received from different parts of the world in the week just ending.

1. United Kingdom 350 
2. United States 97
3. Russia 68
4. Germany 41
5. Iran 32
6. Slovenia 30
7. Ukraine 18
8. Moldova 14
9. Canada 10
10. Israel 9

This week's total: 669 (last week's: 942) 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.

A big fall in the course of a week, that's true - but I've only posted one new entry this week. I've had other demands on my time (Open University essays to mark, childcare over the Easter holidays etc). I've got quite a backlog sitting in the "drafts" file, that should see the number of pageviews fair shoot up in the week ahead!

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 this map for "now" (whenever that is), today, this week, this month and "all time" (which seems to mean the last 12 months). They're updated each time I look at that them.

OUR MESSAGE IS ABOUT TRUE ISLAMIC VALUES

This is Dr Habib Akram's First Person column, published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Our message is about true Islamic values

Dr Habib Akram wants us all to get on board his community's bus peace campaign

Not a day goes by without some bad news relating to my faith. Atrocities and extremist actions "in the name of Islam" fill the national news pages. No good, it seems – if the media were to be believed – ever comes from Muslims. No wonder Islamaphobia is at such a high.

A recent survey has found that a total of 98 per cent of respondents gained information about Islam from the press and broadcast media. Islam was therefore associated with terrorism, extremism and repression of women. Decades ago, it was not Islam that was the menace (it was then an ally) when communism was the great threat and the West feared the "reds under beds". Prior to that, fascism too had wreaked havoc across Europe.

Ideologies – be they faith-based or political – taken to extreme threaten us all and the extremists' interpretation and expression of Islam that panders to the media is in fact anathema to Islam. This is why, in common with many Muslims across all walks of life, my community is driving home a message of peace through a nationwide peace campaign.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, founded over a century ago on the basis of the peaceful practice of Islam, has placed banners proclaiming Loyalty, Freedom, Peace on 240 buses in British cities, including Leicester. From the end of this month and in May, a number of Leicester buses will display the values that Islam inculcates. This is part of an Affirmative Action campaign by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community to send out a clear message to religious extremists as well as Islamaphobes about true Islamic values.

At the very heart of the campaign is the belief that it is not sufficient to simply declare that Islam is a religion of peace – one must live this belief by setting an example. The belief in peace stems from the very inception of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community who have peace missions in towns and cities across the UK, including Leicester. My community is actively engaged in local and national fund-raising, volunteering, peace conferences, charity and interfaith work. The peace campaign comes as a national youth charity drive in the Midlands by Ahmadiyya Muslims aims to raise £225,000 for British charities.

The vast majority of Muslims live ordinary, decent lives and wish to contribute to the wellbeing of the country in which they live – it is where we and our children and their children will live. It is in all our interests – as well as an act of faith – to be good and loyal citizens and we must not allow extremist thinking and behaviour to destroy what we hold dear.

My community has launched a dedicated website for those who want to find out more about the peaceful message of Islam: www.loveforallhatredfornone.org

Dr Habib Akram is President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association Leicester

Holy Saturday, according to @His_Grace Archbishop Cranmer

In a blog entry posted a couple of days ago, I described Holy Saturday as "the day largely forgotten, between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. That may be so in terms of public celebrations, but it's only the case if you're not thinking deeply enough about the story of Jesus.

The Book of Common Prayer (1662) states that after Jesus "was crucified, dead and buried" he "descended into hell"; Common Worship (2000) that he "descended to the dead". Both these translations of the Apostle's Creed are authorised in the Church of England. The latter translation concurs with that included in the Roman Catholic Catechism.

If you'd like to read more the soteriological significance of this day and reflect on its place in the progress of Holy Week, I can do no better than recommend you pay a visit to the blog of "His Grace", "Archbishop Cranmer". His Grace expends his online energy "examining religio-political agendas with politico-religious objectives". Here's how he's described on his blog:

Archbishop Cranmer takes as his inspiration the words of Sir Humphrey Appleby: "It’s interesting," he observes, "that nowadays politicians want to talk about moral issues, and bishops want to talk politics." It is the fusion of the two in public life, and the necessity for a wider understanding of their complex symbiosis, which leads His Grace to write on these very sensitive issues. Things got just a little bit too hot on 21st March 1556. His Grace hasn't been around much since, but he is as keen as ever to investigate and expose religio-politics or politico-religiosity, so email Cranmer with your insights, and he shall investigate - whatever the cost...

Here's a link to His Grace's blog entry for today, entitled "Holy Saturday: devastation, anguish, hell". Read and think on: http://archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.com/2011/04/holy-saturday-devastation-anguish-hell.html

Follow Archbishop Cranmer on Twitter: @His_Grace

This week's visitors

Here's the update on the number of pageviews the blog has received from different parts of the world in the week just ending.

1. United Kingdom 471 
2. United States 189
3. Russia 64
4. Germany 59
5. Denmark 52
6. Iran 44
7. Slovenia 24
8. France 16
9. Cyprus 12
10. Canada 11

This week's total: 942 (last week's: 869) 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 this map for "now" (whenever that is), today, this week, this month and "all time" (which seems to mean the last 12 months). They're updated each time I look at that them.

So, if you're a visitor to the blog from one of these countries, why not leave a comment? Tell me something about yourself - and what you think of what you've been reading here. Don't be shy now ...

EARTH DAY

Today (Friday 22 April) is Earth Day, dedicated to raising awareness of – and appreciation for – the natural environment. Earth Day was founded in 1970 and for the first two decades remained focused almost entirely on activities and events in the USA. It went global in 1990 and is now celebrated in more than 175 countries and by a significant number of national governments. In 2009, the United Nations designated 22 April International Mother Earth Day. Over the years, many communities have extended their observance to celebrate Earth Week. Earth Day is now the first day of Earth Month. This is, obviously, the kind of occasion in which faith communities can participate jointly and alongside other agencies which promote the common weal. However, I'm not aware of anything taking place locally (or nationally for that matter). This may be because Earth Day coincides with Good Friday this year. Some religious groups and organisations have put advice, guidance, information and resources online. If you're interested in looking at these, they can be found in the usual ways.

CHRIST IN THE CENTRE ON GOOD FRIDAY

I take Harry and Gracie in to see Christ in the Centre this morning. We don't make it in time to see the whole thing and miss the first half, that was performed in the appropriately named St Peter's Square in Highcross, then moved along High Street to Humberstone Gate. We join the crowd there, at the point in the story where Jesus is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The second half of the story is played out on a stage in front of the giant TV screen (which was used to great advantage), between Primark on one side (as seen in the photo above) and Superdrug on the other. I took that picture just at the moment in the story when Pontius Pilate infamously washes his hands of Jesus.


I found the whole thing very moving - and some of it distressing. There were clearly many people watching who weren't well versed in the Easter story and didn't seem prepared for the fairly harrowing depiction of these events in the final hours of Jesus' earthly life.


It was a beautiful warm and sunny morning and the event attracted a huge crowd. This was one of a number of public performances of the Passion Play, in diverse forms and settings, taking place in many parts of Britain today.


Here's a link to the report published the next day in the Leicester Mercury. There's a great slide show of photos taken on the day (along with reader's comments, although they barely touch on this event, but focus on the erroneous notion that St George's Day events are banned in Leicester),