New blasphemy guidance “will not be published”
Schoolsweek says the Department for Education will not publish new guidance on blasphemy in schools, despite the home secretary promising to do so after four pupils were suspended when a copy of the Quran was damaged in a Wakefield school. The DofE told Schoolsweek that they “do not plan to issue additional guidance on managing blasphemy related incidents”. The article quotes the DofE saying: “There is a range of existing guidance – such as on behaviour, exclusions and the political impartiality – to help schools make decisions on how to meet the needs of their pupils and to manage and resolve concerns and complaints”. The report says the schools minister Nick Gibb wrote to the headteacher and council pointing out there is no blasphemy law and “schools should be promoting fundamental British values of the respect for rule of law, individual liberty and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs”.
Six shot dead in attack on Jehovah’s Witness Centre
Six people have been shot dead in an attack on a Jehovah’s Witness centre in Hamburg, Germany. Seven others were injured. The gunmen got away and police have launched an extensive search nearby. They say there is no reliable information on the motive for the attack.
Review of relationships and sex education guidance brought forward
The prime minister has announced he is bringing forward a review of statutory relationships, sex and health education guidance for schools. He was answering a question in the Commons on claims that age-inappropriate lessons are being taught. Christian lobby groups and Muslim parents in London have campaigned against the way it is taught, saying it should be faith sensitive. Rishi Sunak said the priority should be the safety and wellbeing of children and the consultation will start as soon as possible.
Suella Braverman says Lineker’s comments were offensive as her husband in Jewish
The Home Secretary says Gary Lineker’s tweet that the ban on small boats was incredibly cruel and not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 1930s, “diminished the tragedy”. Suella Braverman, speaking on the BBC podcast Political Thinking, said the comments were “offensive” because her husband is Jewish. “My children are therefore directly descendant from people who were murdered in gas chambers during the Holocaust. To throw out those kind of flippant analogies diminishes the unspeakable tragedy that millions of people went through and I don’t think anything that is happening in the UK today can come close to what happened in the Holocaust. So I find it a lazy and unhelpful comparison to make.”
Asda announces “Ramadan aisles” for Muslim customers
Asda has announced plans to cater for Muslim customers during the holy month of Ramadan, which starts on 22 March. It is a period of fasting, worship, service, giving, and communal gathering when the daily fast ends. Asda was bought by Muslim brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa in a £6.8m deal in 2020. It says it is providing dedicated Ramadan aisles in 150 stores – an increase of 47 per cent on last year – and 150 new product lines across all categories, including 18 varieties of dates, which are eaten to break the fast. The stores with the dedicated aisles will be in areas with high Muslim populations, such as Wembley, Leicester and Sheffield.
Faith and public health partnership in Tower Hamlets model for the future
Eight faith groups have collaborated on a project to enhance health provision in Tower Hamlets. The Faith Health Action Partnership project built on work started during the Covid pandemic, when vaccinations were rolled out via places of worship in the borough. At a meeting this week, public health and faith leaders pointed to the benefits of partnership, enabling health care to get to ‘hard-to-reach’ communities, offering benefits to mental wellbeing and engaging at an individual level with people over health care. The partnership was funded by the council’s public health team and coordinated by FaithAction and is looking to expand its work.
Royal praise for Muslim Centre earthquake appeal
The Hayes Muslim Centre, which broke its 30-year fundraising record in an appeal for earthquake victims in Syria and Turkey, received a royal visit yesterday. The Centre raised £18,000 within two hours and its final tally was £30,000. The Prince and Princess of Wales met an aid worker from Islamic Relief, who told them about hearing voices underneath rubble and trying to free people with hammers and bare hands. Evening Standard report here.
Compensation payments for church sex abuse victims in France
The organisation overseeing compensation to victims of child sex abuse by priests and church officers in France, says about 190 have been promised reparations, with hundreds more claims to be considered. The Independent National Authority for Recognition and Reparation, said of the total 1180 people who are claiming, 32 per cent are women and 68 per cent men. Most payments are around €20,000 euros – the maximum amount is €60,000.
Survey to find rare species of animals and plants in churchyards
A biodiversity study to record plants and animals in church yards across England and Wales is being launched again this year. The annual survey, due to take place from 3 – 11 June, aims to find where rare and endangered species are located in the country and to aid churches of all denominations to increase biodiversity on their land. This year, species on some of the 17,500 acres of churchyards in England will be mapped, with a further 1,282 acres of churchyards in Wales.
Woman vicar not welcome in Cornish town once home to the vicar of Dibley
Cornwall Live reports that a church in the Cornish coastal town of Fowey, once the home of the Vicar of Dibley Dawn French, is refusing to have a woman vicar. Fowey parish church has been without a priest in charge since the previous incumbent left to start a new church associated with GAFCON – the conservative global Anglican group – which meets in the town’s sailing club. The church members who remained voted in January not to appoint a woman on biblical grounds. But they are out of favour with the local community who took to Facebook to describe the decision as sexist, awful, misogynistic and right wing. However one entry suggests that due to widespread publication of the story, a new vicar is “on the horizon”.
