Sikh Lawyers criticise Colin Bloom’s Faith Engagement Review
The Council of Sikhs in Law, a network of Sikhs in the legal profession aiming to “encourage and empower” the UK Sikh community, has published a critical review on the Colin Bloom report “Does Government Do God?”. The report on the relationship between government and faith groups in Britain, contained 11 pages on Sikhs, saying that despite the overwhelmingly positive contribution of Sikh communities to society, there was concern over “an extremist fringe ideology within the pro-Khalistan movement” and “while these extremists reflect a tiny minority, they attract disproportionate amounts of attention and stoke divisive sentiments in sectors of Sikh communities”. The Council of Sikhs in Law says the Bloom report is fundamentally flawed and its claims “make absolutely no sense, reveal his bias and are backed up by zero evidence”. The lawyers’ review was written by a group chaired by Prof Satvinder Singh Juss, professor of law at King’s College London. It was presented to the Lords yesterday and has been distributed by the Sikh Federation.
Dr Jasjit Singh takes up first Sikh studies professorship in Singapore
Dr Jasjit Singh, associate professor in the school of philosophy, religion and history of science at the University of Leeds, is to be the first visiting professor in Sikh Studies at the National University of Singapore, in an initiative lasting five months this year. This is the first Sikh studies professorship to be established in Asia, outside India, and was set up in partnership with the Central Sikh Gurdwara Board. The aim is to help Asians gain a better understanding of the Sikh tradition and diaspora. Dr Singh, who will teach an undergraduate module and deliver public lectures, says he hopes to promote academic scholarship in Sikh studies in Singapore and globally. At present, in Leeds, he teaches religion and the media, among other subjects. He is a trustee of the Religion Media Centre.
Vigil held in Birmingham to honour Sikh mother murdered in an honour killing
Sikh Women’s Aid has organised a vigil in Birmingham, in memory of Surjit Athwal, a 27 year old mother of two from Coventry, who was killed by her husband and mother in law in 1998, after asking for a divorce. They were the first people to be convicted in the UK of an honour killing where the murder was plotted in the UK but carried out abroad. Coventry Live explains that Surjit was kidnapped during a family wedding in India, strangled and her body dumped in a river, but has never been found. The True Honour Charity was set up in her name to train frontline professionals in how to support victims of honour-based abuse.
Local “pantries” run by Church Action on Poverty save people £21 a week
A report for the charity “Your Local Pantry” has found that people are saving an average of £21 a week on groceries through using its services. The report, produced by Church Action on Poverty and written by Sarah Purcell, Dr Fiona Tweedie and Jane Perry, says there are 100 pantries serving 35,000 people in 13,000 households. Pantries are like shops with fresh fruit and veg, frozen and chilled food, meat and dairy products, and long-life tinned and packaged food. Members pay a small subscription of a few pounds per week in return for groceries worth much more. The network is managed by Church Action on Poverty. The Church Times has the story here
Jesuit priest describes dangerous work in Mexico parish where two Jesuits were murdered
Just over a year ago, two Jesuits and a tour guide were murdered in their church in the parish of Cerocahui, in northern Mexico. A few months later, the gunman himself, thought to be from a drug cartel, was found dead. Yet despite the dangers, the Jesuits made the decision to remain in the parish, to continue serving the community. Fr Esteban Cornejo SJ, a Jesuit priest who was near the church at the time of the deaths of his colleagues, has given an interview to the BBC about the intense security arrangements required for the priests and the impact on clergy and people in the parish. He said: “I stay because I am living a life that is more alive when there is death”.
Hindu temple attacked and 30 Hindus “held hostage” in Pakistan
A human rights campaigner in Pakistan is voicing concern for Hindus living in Sindh province, in the south east of the country, after a Hindu temple was attacked with rocket launchers on Sunday and 30 members of the Hindu community, including women and children, were reportedly held hostage by organised criminal gangs. The Tribune reports that the attack is believed to be in response to the story of Seema Haider Jakhrani, a local Muslim mother of four, who fell in love with a Hindu on a gaming platform and left to live with him near Delhi. She has been arrested for illegally entering India without a visa via Nepal with her four children, all aged under seven, and her lover has been arrested for sheltering illegal immigrants. The campaigner, Shiva Kacchi, says her action “hurt the sentiments of every Pakistani Muslim”.
Outrage as a historic minaret in Iraq is demolished because it was in the middle of a street
The minaret of the 300-year-old al-Siraji Mosque in Basra, southern Iraq, has been razed to the ground because it got in the way of traffic. The Associated Press reports that its destruction has caused outrage on social media as another example of the disappearance of Iraq’s cultural heritage. Islamic State demolished numerous ancient sites in northern Iraq but in recent years some have been restored and stolen artefacts returned. A university professor is quoted saying “This time it is the actions of official authorities that have put an end to our heritage”.
