KNOWING AND RESPECTING THE BELIEFS OF OTHERS

Allan Hayes's First Person column appears in today's  Leiceester Mercury:

Knowing and respecting the beliefs of others

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

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

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

Here are some recent personal highlights:

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

Two books should be mentioned as looking for understanding and mutual benefit: the first one, out in a few weeks, Religion for Atheists, by Alain de Botton (himself an atheist), tells us that religions are good at some things to do with life and, rather cheekily, that atheists should steal from them. It goes some way to meeting my criticism that humanism needs to be more human – a view that came home to me very much in designing the humanist display referred to above.

The second one by the Vicar of the University Church, Oxford, Canon Brian Mountford is entitled Christian Atheist: it is very sympathetically dealt with in a Westminster Abbey sermon by the Rev Robert Reiss, Canon in Residence; it is of great interest to me as a trustee of the Sea of Faith Network, many members of which might accept the description "Christian Atheist".

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

PHILOSOPHY IN PUBS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Check out the Facebook page for Philosophy in Pubs Leicester.

Follow the Crumblin' Cookie on Twitter: @Crumblin_Cookie

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

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"It is important we set up camp again."

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

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

"I am used to life on the streets."

LEARNING THE LESSONS OF HISTORY

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Learning the lessons of history

I agree with Manzoor Moghal (First Person, December 13) that learning from the past is a logical pre-requisite for future peace.

The Africans correctly identified the problem with history when they coined the proverb "Until the lions write their own story, the hunters will be always be the heroes" and it is in this spirit that I am compelled to expand on Mr Moghul's assertion that India owes pluralism to the "Mughal Emperors of India who ruled for over 300 years and mostly treated Hindus as equal partners.

Some of the 22 Mughal Emperors were largely benevolent and inclusive. However, others did not consider Hindus as their equals.

On the contrary, they massacred thousands of Shi'a Muslims and non-Muslims and tore down their places of worship.

Prominent Sikh Gurus were killed by Mughals for opposing Mughal persecution of minority religious communities. Subsequently, Sikhism militarised to oppose Mughal hegemony. The "bad" Mughal leaders were Muslims merely in name but far from Islamic in their actions.

Islam's fundamental peace message is often hijacked by zealots.The death of the last Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb led to the emergence of the secular Sikh Kingdom from 1799 to 1849.

I agree, in part, with Mr Moghal's assertion that British Imperialism destroyed the mutual respect shared among Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus but it would be wrong to put all the blame on the British.

Sectarianism replaced secularism and Jinnah's egotistical desire to be the first premier of Pakistan was spurred on by emerging right-wing Hindu nationalism.

I too lament the partition of my beloved Punjab – a place where once all religious festivals were celebrated by all with equal gusto.

Western foreign policy is always mooted as the scapegoat for religious conflict, but the Russian retreat from Afghanistan left a power vacuum. A Mujahidin army of young guerrilla soldiers, armed with CIA supplied AK-47s and anti-tank missiles were left with no jobs. America failed to intervene with meaningful aid to help the Afghans to rebuild their state and the Taliban emerged.

To understand this crucible, in which terrorism is bred, one must take into account the much stronger influence of a strand of Islam called Salafism and Wahabism which both originated in Arab countries in the 19th century.

Al Qaida and its offshoots all adhere to this strict brand of Islam which later gave birth to Deobandism. The Arab countries have failed to utilise their huge petroleum profits to build up their own "United States of Arabia" – they had an opportunity to become an economic super power but instead squandered their wealth on lavish lifestyles and religious intolerance.

Rather than the West, the Arab League is now intervening in Syria and there is hope for a self-determined Arab future. This is tempered by US foreign policy, propped up by the Bible Belt Protestant belief that Jerusalem must be occupied by Jews converted to Christianity for the second coming of the Messiah.

Until nations become truly secular and religion is treated as progressive moral framework rather than a literal theological blueprint and, moreover, until compromise is found in the perennial Arab-Israeli conflict the world will always be distracted from the human race's biggest challenge – Africa.

Can we hope that the foreign policies and billionaires of all nations, including India, China, Russia, Indonesia, Thailand, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, will play a positive role in providing solutions for the Aids, corruption and hunger epidemics that ravish this beautiful continent?As Plato said: "The penalty good men pay for indifference is to be ruled by evil men."

Mr Raj Mann, Guru Arjan Dev Mission, Leamington Spa

FEAST OF HONOUR

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THIS WEEK'S VISITORS (1,096)

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

1. United Kingdom 549
2. United States 255
3. Germany 87
4. France 57
5. India 49
6. Russia 37
7. Ukraine 21
8. Canada 17
9. Denmark 14
10. South Korea 10

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

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

CLEAR-UP BEGINS AFTER PROTESTERS MOVE OUT

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Clear-up begins after protesters move out

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CAN THE BISHOP PRODUCE EVIDENCE FOR HIS VIEW?

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Can the Bishop produce evidence for his view?

I was somewhat surprised to read the assertions in Bishop Tim Stevens' article "No scientific equation will explain God" (First Person, December 17).

Of course, in a way, he is correct because it is an almighty task to try to explain something for which there is no credible evidence of its existence. He was writing of the recent experiments with the atomic particle collider machine at CERN.

He was being dismissive of the idea that the experiments had discovered a "God particle".

He need not worry – as I understand it, the scientists have discovered some new sub-atomic particles of whose existence they had only guessed in the past.

According to him it is not so much scientists making discoveries, but his God kindly gradually revealing the "mysteries of the universe".

There is no evidence at all for this version of events, or if there is I hope he can produce it.

Michael Gerard, President: Leicester Secular Society

BIBLE, CULTURE AND IDENTITY

This letter is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Bible, culture and identity 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Michael Myers, Leicester 

HOW ARE YOUR QUOTES CHOSEN?

This letter is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

How are your quotes chosen? 

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

They seem to have no connection to the liturgical year. 

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

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

Wendy Geen, Wigston