55,000 Gather for Ahmadiyya Muslim Festival ‘Jalsa Salana’ in Surrey
The Ahmadiyya Muslim community held its annual festival, the Jalsa Salana UK, in fields near Alton in Hampshire this weekend. An estimated 55,000 people were there, including 10,000 volunteers and visiting dignitaries and members from countries all over the world. There were 13 exhibitions with information about the extensive aid programmes the community runs, such as on peace, the environment, agriculture, humanitarian aid and education. But the key part of the festival was spiritual and community development, with women on one side where men were disallowed, and men on the other side, which women could walk into. The atmosphere was one of determined attention to spiritual engagement, through prayer and listening to reflections on the faith, including sermons from the Caliph, His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor. He is the fifth Caliph of the movement founded in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who is regarded as the Messiah, a claim not accepted by mainstream Islam, which has led to Ahmadiyya Muslims being persecuted especially in Muslim majority countries. Their international headquarters is now in Morden, with another community in Tilford, near the site of the festival. A full report on the festival will follow later this week. Meanwhile, here‘s an ITV film showing the vibrancy of the event.
A YouGov survey commissioned by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, found that 53 per cent of people in Britain believed Islam is not compatible with British values. This view was shared mainly by people aged over 50. Under 25s were more likely to think Muslims makes a positive impact on society,
Ayaan Institute Report: UK Mosques make up just 4 per cent of worship spaces
The Ayaan Institute has released a report on British mosques “Mosques in Britain 2025: A Landmark Study of Faith Infrastructure”, offering the most detailed analysis yet of the UK’s 1,884 mosques. Based on data from 1,179 registered charities, the report shows mosques comprise just four per cent of UK places of worship, compared to churches at 89 per cent. The mosque sector is almost entirely community funded. In 2023 mosques received £5 million in government grants, with £450 million generated by mosques mainly through community donations. Mosque buildings are worth £1.5 billion and 32,000 people, mostly volunteers, are involved in running them as trustees or employees. There are 7356 imams and teachers. The Ayaan Institute’s director, Jahangir Mohammed, praised the investment in building the British mosque infrastructure, and the resilience of communities who often face a hostile environment with far right hate and the impact of wars abroad. He said: “They have shown remarkable resilience in the face of such challenges. They must now focus on developing human resources and capacity more than on buildings.” The full reports is here
Missionaries using drones to evangelise indigenous people in the Amazon
The Guardian reports that missionaries in South America are using drones carrying audio devices in the rainforest to attract and evangelise Indigenous people in the Amazon. A joint investigation by the Guardian and Brazilian newspaper O Globo reveals that solar-powered devices reciting biblical messages in Portuguese and Spanish have appeared among members of the Korubo people in the Javari valley, near the Brazil-Peru border. It’s reported that earlier, missionaries used seaplanes to map trails and locate longhouses.
Sea of Faith ventures into RE and AI
The 37th Sea of Faith conference was held in London this weekend, the first since its founder Don Cupitt, passed away. Those attending, including his daughter, follow his radical theological thinking to reframe Christianity, away from a transcendent God towards individual beliefs and ethics. Stalwart supporters who have been members since the beginning were there, alongside new interested RE teachers and academics, to discuss education and artificial intelligence. There were presentations on an approach to teaching RE called The Big Ideas, where a lesson starts with understanding the concepts a teacher may expect their students to remember in future years, making sense of life. Another presentation by Dr Beth Singler, on Artificial Intelligence, looked at how AI can offer hope and how it is entangled with religion in adapting and improvising ideas. A longer article on where the Sea of Faith is now, is expected later this week.
Welsh bishop involved in electing two archbishops
The Times reports on the Bishop of Llandaff, Mary Stallard, who is on the committees to elect both the next Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of Wales, both of whom have resigned following governance issues on safeguarding. The next Archbishop of Wales will be selected by the Electoral College, 40 people who will be locked away at St Pierre Church and Hotel in Chepstow from tomorrow, Tuesday, to make a decision – press release here. Mary Stallard has been tipped to get this job. She is also on the commission to select the next Archbishop of Canterbury, which is expected to meet for the third and final time in September to announce their decision in the autumn. Bishop Mary, 58, is one of the Anglican Communion reps on the group. She has served as a vicar, school chaplain and Archdeacon of Bangor before moving to be Bishop of Llandaff, around Cardiff, in 2022. Times report here.
BBC documentary: Lifting the lid on the Jesus Army
A BBC documentary on “The Jesus Army”, a cult which disbanded in 2019 with multiple allegations of sex abuse, includes interviews with people who lived in the community and abused. It was led by a charismatic Baptist preacher, Noel Stanton, who died in 2009. The interviewees are with people who were children living in the commune in Northampton, explaining what they witnessed – speaking in tongues, people looking vacant as if they were possessed, children being removed from their close family members, children and adults being exorcised, adults choosing to be celibate or abstain from sex, children being beaten for being defiant. The members are seen in conversation with a counsellor who identifies their abuse and the leaders who said God was on their side. BBC iplayer here. Article here
Bishop in dressing gown halts London choir concert, calling it ‘terrible racket’
A choir concert at St Andrew’s Holborn, a Wren church in the centre of London, was brought to an abrupt end on Saturday when Jonathan Baker, the Bishop of Fulham, who lives on the premises, stormed on stage in a dressing gown to stop the performance. The City Academy Voices choir was finishing its show when the lights were switched off and the bishop, barefoot, appeared. He took to the mic to say: “You are in my house. It’s gone past 10pm and this is a terrible racket. Goodnight. You are in my house – can you leave it now please. Thank you, it’s over.” The crowd booed, the musicians were asked to leave the stage, the choir sang Abba’s “Dancing Queen” a cappella to applause, and then the people left. The Bishop oversees parishes in London which do not accept women priests. A spokesperson for the Diocese of London said: “Bishop Jonathan reached out to the organisers on Saturday to apologise for his late-night appearance at the concert, which he now understands had overrun due to technical difficulties.” Sky News report, with recording of incident, here
