BBC broadcasts first Eid-ul-Fitr live from Bradford
After the sighting of the crescent moon on Sunday night, Eid al-Fitr, the “festival of breaking the fast,” which marks the end of Ramadan, was broadcast live by the BBC yesterday morning, a first for British terrestrial TV. The service came from Bradford Central Mosque, a city where a third of the population is Muslim. Yesterday evening, the BBC broadcast “Celebrity Eid” from the city park in the heart of Bradford, which is designated the 2025 UK City of Culture, Bradford. The host was sports presenter Jason Mohammad, and food, fashion and music featured in the show.
British move to end disputes over Eid moon sightings
The crescent moon has been sighted over Pendle in Lancashire, it’s official, meaning that another community can officially celebrate the end of Ramadan and the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr. But the disputes over who has seen it and where, leads to Eid being celebrated on different days and the confusion can cause deep divisions. Maira Butt reports on attempts by the New Crescent Society to resolve the issue in Britain. Founded by Imad Ahmed, a PhD student at Cambridge University, the society is in partnership with the Royal Observatory of Greenwich, encouraging thousands to turn out to look for the moon. He says that contrary to popular belief, the Islamic calendar is not a lunar calendar but an observational one, because “timekeeping is a human practice” and witnessing the crescent moon is a religious obligation. Maira’s story is on our website here
Islam Channel reports record charity appeal on 27th night of Ramadan
The Islam TV Channel’s live charity appeal on the 27th night of Ramadan, has raised £1.5 million for Islamic Relief’s ‘Children of Gaza’ appeal, setting a new record for fundraising in one night. The donations were raised for Islamic Relief’s work in Palestine to provide critical humanitarian aid to the children of Gaza, especially babies born in dangerous conditions, with one report of women undergoing caesarean sections without anaesthesia. The 27th night of Ramadan, “Laylatul Qadr”, or the Night of Power, commemorates the night when the first verses of the Quran were revealed and is said to be the most venerated night of the Islamic calendar.
British Methodist donations for children with disabilities in Gaza
Funds raised by the Methodists and URC church, have helped children with disabilities in a clinic in Gaza which has relocated and kept going despite bombing. The Methodist church reports on a visit by a Methodist delegation to Jerusalem, to visit projects funded by the donations. It quotes Violette Mubarak, General Director of the Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre, which set up in Gaza just before the Hamas attacks on Israel, saying that its seven staff had managed to offer 4,000 therapy sessions during the war and had looked after some children at the Al Ahli Hospital, where plans for a hydrotherapy pool have been frozen because US aid has been cut. She thanked the churches for their donations which had become “all the more important as we have seen recent cuts in international aid and political moves to hinder humanitarian work which continue to have a direct effect on organisations like Princess Basma”.
Cardinal speaks of ‘churning despair’ of the suffering people of Myanmar
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon in Myanmar, has described how he was caught up in the 7.7-magnitude earthquake, while travelling home by car when huge craters opened up and vehicles lost control veering from side to side. He told Vatican News it was a shattering experience to see people running for their lives, a disaster that hit people already living with violent conflict, economic collapse and huge displacement. An estimated 2,000 people have lost their lives. He thanked the Pope for his message of support, which he said came “as a soothing balm of consolation to our people.” The Cardinal appealed for urgent humanitarian aid including food, shelter and medicine, and said the Church’s personnel and religious groups would be “the best channel to bring assistance to the needy”. He said the country is in a “churning despair” and he appealed for peace and a ceasefire.
US Catholics and evangelicals write ‘theological refutation’ of Trump’s deportation policy
The US Religion News Service reports that Catholic and evangelical organisations have written a report saying that around one in 12 Christians in the US are vulnerable to deportation, or live with a family member who could be deported by President Donald Trump’s administration. The report says it is a “theological and data-driven refutation of the president’s campaign pledge”. Authors include the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Association of Evangelicals and the Centre for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. RNS quotes one of the report authors, Matthew Soerens of World Relief, saying they hope American Christians will recognise that proposed deportations “will impact us, followers of Jesus who were knit together in unity under Christ,”
“Pope is following doctors’ orders and taking a complete rest
The Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, has said Pope Francis continues to rest after his return from the hospital, and is not receiving anyone or holding meetings or audiences of any kind. He had spent 38 days in Gemelli hospital being treated for double pneumonia. The doctor leading his medical team, Sergio Alfieri, has called the Pope’s recovery “miraculous,” saying the pontiff had two close brushes with death during his hospital stay and his recovery was due, in part, to prayer.
Peterborough Cathedral rescued from financial crisis
Peterborough Cathedral has exceeded its £300,000 fundraising target, set in January to address a financial crisis which threatened daily operations. The Church Times reports that the Cathedral has received donations from 1,000 people, including a significant anonymous contribution. The Dean, Christopher Dalliston, thanked people for their support and said there was a need for sustainable funding, avoiding reliance on repeated emergency appeals.
Two tier sentencing policy abandoned after government complaints
The Sentencing Council, an advisory group of judges and others engaged in the criminal justice system, has suspended plans for sentencing guidelines which could have led to different sentences depending on age, sex and ethnicity, a proposal dubbed by critics as a two-tier sentencing policy. The guidelines were due to come into force tomorrow and would have required a pre-sentence report before imprisonment in order to correct disparities in the system, but the Ministry of Justice was against the idea. If the Sentencing Council’s plans had gone ahead, they would have been in force for only a short period of time until the government passed legislation against them. Guardian report here
Tate Britain returns painting looted by Nazis
Tate Britain will return a 17th-century painting to the heirs of the Jewish Belgian art collector Samuel Hartveld, after it was looted by the Nazis. Aeneas and his Family Fleeing Burning Troy (1654), by Henry Gibbs, was taken from Harveld’s home after he fled for his life in 1940. Tate Britain acquired it in 1994, unaware of its history, but in 2024, the Sonia Klein Trust, representing Hartveld’s heirs, filed a claim, and the UK government confirmed its return. Tate director Maria Balshaw has stressed the importance of restitution and the Arts Minister, Sir Chris Bryant, welcomed the decision. Jewish News story here
