One thousand people killed in Alawite areas in Syria
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says around a thousand people belonging to the Alawite Islamic sect, have died in violent clashes in Syria’s Alawite coastal region. Local residents report scenes of looting and mass killings, including children, with bodies piled up in the streets, covered in blood. Deposed leader Bashar al-Assad and his family were members of this sect, which makes up just 12 per cent of Syria’s mainly Sunni population. It was a powerful presence under Assad, with members appointed as leaders in political movements and the armed forces. The violence began when Assad loyalists ambushed government forces and there was swift and deadly retribution. Syria’s interim leader has appealed for unity. The Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shia Islam regarded as heretical, which reveres Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad, as an incarnation of the divine. The group was founded by Ibn Nusayr during the ninth century in an area now in northern Syria.
Tell Mama faces closure after government funding cut
Tell Mama, the organisation that reports on Islamophobic hate crime, has told The Guardian that the government is cutting its funding and it faces closure. The news comes weeks after it reported 6,313 anti-Islam hate crimes, a record number, in Britain in the past year. Its founder, Fiyaz Mughal, said theirs was the only project doing this work on a national scale and it will take 10 or 15 years for a new organisation to achieve success. It has been funded by the Department for Communities, Housing and Local Government since it was founded in 2012. The Interfaith Network was also funded by the DCHLG and its funding was cut forcing closure last year. The Community Security Trust which researches antisemitic abuse is funded by the Home Office.
Guidance published for football during Ramadan
The Football Association has published guidance to support participants and employees during the month of Ramadan, from 28 February to 30 March. The guide includes information on how fasting and other lifestyle changes during this period may impact participants across the game. Fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset and the guidance has advice on exercise and nutrition for practising Muslims, as well as information for non-Muslim players and staff to ensure their footballing environment is inclusive, for example consideration over prayer times. Several football clubs have organised iftars during Ramadan, the meal at the end of the fasting day. The FA is celebrating Eid at the end of Ramadan with an event at Wembley Stadium.
Pope Francis calls for a “miracle of tenderness” for people in adversity
Pope Francis, entering his fourth week in hospital, has called for a “miracle of tenderness” to accompany everyone facing adversity, so that they might perceive “a little light in the night of pain.” His words came in the Sunday Angelus address, which was read on his behalf, where he also said that “people who care for those who are sick, represent a sign of the Lord’s presence for those under their care”. Francis is being treated for double pneumonia at the Gemelli hospital in Rome, and is said to be stable, with slight gradual improvements, but a Vatican statement last night says “the overall situation remains complex prompting doctors to maintain a guarded prognosis. Tonight, following the high-flow oxygenation with nasal cannulas during the day, the Pope will again transition to non-invasive mechanical ventilation, as planned”. This weekend, the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Venezuelan Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra met him to keep him across situations in the church and the world
Catholic women called to go on strike this Lent
Catholic women have been called on to take strike action this Lent, as a protest at inequality in the church. The action is organized by the Women’s Ordination Conference, a group based in Rome that advocates for women to be made priests, bishops and deacons. Women are being encouraged to withhold labour, time and financial resources from the church during Lent. A report by the Religion News Service quotes the organisation saying that women working in embassies, universities, schools and dioceses, from the United States to Poland and Italy are taking part. It follows the Synod on Synodality in Rome last October, where it was hoped progress would be made on allowing women to be deacons, but the issue was taken back to a workshop for more reflection. Religion News Service story here
Church of England politics in bishop appointment
The new interim bishop of Liverpool, Ruth Worsley, has given an interview to the Church Times, on her new appointment. This is her third interim bishops’ appointment, previously filling in as Bishop of Bath and Wells, and at Coventry where, the report says, she was not considered as a candidate “a decision that she attributes to church politics”. In Liverpool she takes over after Bishop John Perumbalath “retired” following sex abuse allegations which he denies, and said people “need to really listen well to one another and hear the damage and hurt that people have”. Interview by Francis Martin is here
Sacked school chaplain wins new employment tribunal hearing
The school chaplain sacked for giving a sermon saying it was ok for students to question and debate LGBT teaching, has won an appeal to have another employment tribunal hearing. The Rev Dr Bernard Randall had been employed at the independent Trent College school in Derbyshire. He made his comments in 2019, in response to the views of a gender identity group, Educate and Celebrate, which held sessions at the school. Now it has been ruled that a previous employment tribunal decision which upheld his sacking was unsafe due to anti-Christian bias on the presiding panel, and a new employment tribunal hearing has been ordered. He is represented by Christian Concern. Story here
Marco Rubio’s Ash Wednesday cross angers church leader in Jerusalem
A picture of the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio which went viral, showing him with a prominent cross on his forehead on Ash Wednesday, has angered the Greek Orthodox leader in Jerusalem. Archbishop Atallah Hanna denounced Rubio’s public display, criticising him for his support of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. In a Facebook post, he said: “A true Christian must stand with the oppressed, the suffering, and the afflicted—not with the oppressors who commit violence and repression against nations.” Archbishop Hanna, who leads the Sebastia Diocese of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, has been a vocal critic of the Israeli occupation and a prominent advocate for Palestinian rights.
Campaigners urging release of Jagtar Singh Johal after one charge is dismissed
Jagtar Singh Johal, a Sikh from Scotland who has been in jail in India for seven years on terrorism charges, has had one of nine charges against him dismissed. His brother Gurpreet, told the Sunday programme on BBC Radio 4 that the UK government should pursue Jagtar’s release, as under the double jeopardy rule, the remaining charges must fall. Jagtar Singh Johal was abducted in 2017 when he visited Punjab to celebrate his wedding. The Indian government says he is a terrorist who helped plan killings, but he denies this and has not been convicted of any crimes. The legal NGO “Reprieve” says there is no physical evidence against him, such as CCTV footage, bank transfers or emails, meaning that his ongoing detention makes a “mockery of justice.” BBC background story here
“Traitors” vicar fronting campaign in praise of women clergy
The vicar from the TV show “The Traitors”, Lisa Coupland, is fronting a TearFund campaign in praise of women clergy. In a film released for International Women’s Day “#ThisPastorCan”, she says the campaign shows that women are trailblazers and pioneers, cheered on by other wise women who have gone before and stand by them. She is pastoral care lead for the Kerrier deanery in the Lizard peninsula, Cornwall.
