‘This is multiculturalism at its finest’: Southport imam reflects on community healing weeks after riots
The leader of the mosque in Southport which was attacked in the first of a wave of riots this summer, has told our reporter Maira Butt of the town’s efforts to re-build community cohesion. Imam Ibrahim Hussein said his community was bewildered that they were targeted, as they had lived harmoniously in the town for decades. The attack followed misinformation on social media that the person responsible for killing three small girls at a dance class in Southport, was a Muslim. This was wrong, but the Muslim community found itself at the centre of a riot. Their strong links and community support were the reason that local people rallied round immediately to help repair the mosque: “Some people donated fences, some people donated bricks, some people donated the windows. Some donated the skips. Everything was rebuilt and ready to go within a week. This is community at its finest. This is multiculturalism.” A shared sense of grief has also brought faith groups together and last week Hart Space, where the three girls were tragically killed, was re-opened after an interfaith blessing by faith leaders including Imam Ibrahim Hussein, Rev Rebecca Clarke and Rabbi Arnold Saunders. Read more from Maira’s exclusive interview here.
Four columnists resign from the Jewish Chronicle
Four well known columnists at the Jewish Chronicle have resigned after it published stories about the conflict in Gaza, which were later described as “fabrications”. Jonathan Freedland, David Aaronovitch, David Baddiel and Hadley Freeman announced their decision on social media, with Mr Freedland saying the scandal “brought great disgrace on the paper.. I hope one day to return to the JC, but that can only happen when the JC returns to its own best traditions.” At the centre of the row was the writer of the articles, freelance journalist, Elon Perry. On Friday, the JC issued a statement saying they were not satisfied with some of his claims about his past, removed his stories from the website and ended its association with him. Mr Perry denied the accusations against him, said he was the victim of a witch hunt and that he had provided the paper with scoops. Yesterday, the Chronicle’s editor Jake Wallis Simons issued a statement saying he took full responsibility “for the mistakes that have been made and I will take equal responsibility for the task of making sure nothing like this can happen again”. Guardian story here.
Pope says all religions are a path to God
Pope Francis has told an audience of young people representing all the main world faiths that “There’s only one God, and each of us has a language to arrive at God. Some are Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, and they are different paths [to God].” His comments have been seized upon by his opponents, as being against traditional Christian doctrine that Jesus is the only path to God. But at an interfaith rally in Singapore, his last public engagement on his 12-day trip to south east Asia, he warned: “If you start to fight, ‘my religion is more important than yours, mine is true and yours isn’t’, where will that lead us? ..They are like different languages in order to arrive at God, but since God is God for all, then we are all children of God.” Singapore’s population is 31 per cent Buddhist, 19 per cent Christian, 15 per cent Muslim, 9 per cent Taosim, 5 per cent Hindu and 20 per cent no religion
Pope says US presidential candidates Trump and Harris are both “against life”
Pope Francis has described the US presidential candidates as both being against life – Donald Trump for his anti-migrant policies and Kamala Harris for her support of abortion rights. The choice before the electorate, he said, was between the lesser of two evils: “One must choose the lesser of two evils. Who is the lesser of two evils? That lady or that gentleman? I don’t know. Everyone with a conscience should think on this and do it”. He was speaking to journalists on the plane returning from his trip to south east Asia. CNN report here
CofE evangelicals appeal for more support for parallel province
The Church of England Evangelical Council has appealed for more churches and clergy to join their protest against same sex blessings in church. In a statement outlining plans for this autumn, it says it “would love to see” 500 churches paying their parish share to the Ephesian Fund, which it set up to fund churches in agreement with their conservative views, rather than to the diocese for general distribution. It would also love to see 500 clergy receiving alternative spiritual oversight it has set up, where clergy who disagree with their bishop on same sex issues can seek help from another cleric appointed by the Council and its evangelical allies. It says: “It’s a fact without more clergy and churches taking action we run the risk of being ignored and/or dismissed by the bishops” and more support will mean their protest is louder and has more impact. It remains committed to building a “parallel province” in opposition to the current structures.
15 per cent of secondary schools fail to provide RE in year 11
The National Association of Teachers of RE (NATRE) says 15 per cent of schools provide no Religious Education in year 11 – GCSE exam year. The School Workforce Census shows this is a slight improvement on the previous year, when the figure was 20 per cent. But NATRE makes the point that schools have a statutory duty to provide RE for all pupils in all year groups up to the age of 18, and says the data shows that pupils’ religious education ends when they are just 13 or 14 years old. NATRE has also just announced that its new director is Angela Hill, formerly editor of RE Today.
New leadership for CofE self supporting clergy
The Church of England has appointed a bishop and national officer to look after its 3,000 self-supporting clergy. These are men and women who have jobs outside the church but look after parishes and lead services as well. The new team is the Bishop of Birkenhead Julie Conalty, who was a social worker and a self-supporting minister for 10 years, and the Rev Tony Redman, a chartered buildings surveyor and historic buildings consultant, who has been a self-supporting priest in rural Suffolk for the past 20 years.
