Middle East violence causes tension in diaspora
Violence is escalating in the Middle East, with at least 53 Palestinians and six Israelis killed as Israel carries out airstrikes on Gaza and Palestinian militants fire rockets into Israel. Tor Wennesland, the UN’s special co-ordinator for the Middle East peace process, warned the situation was “escalating towards a full-scale war”. The prime minister Boris Johnson urged both sided to step back from the brink and show restraint. There are signs that tension is spilling out into the diaspora.
A statement from the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board says it understands that Muslims across the UK are feeling a sense of helplessness and frustration. It recommends taking action such as writing to MPs, giving money to charities in the region and prayer. “The sanctuary of al-Aqsa was brutally violated and the tranquillity shattered by the Israeli forces at the al-Aqsa mosque when stun grenades landed inside the mosque whilst many Muslims were praying. An attack on a place of worship must be seen as an attack on all of our sanctuaries.”
The Union of Jewish Students told the Jewish Chronicle that they had received countless messages about antisemitic abuse directed at Jewish students. They were angered by a statement from student leaders at St Anne’s College Oxford, asking people to combat the noticeable lack of support for the wider Muslim and Palestinian community. The union added: “In our mission to support Jewish students we urge them to amend their statement and consider the impact of neglecting and prioritising one student community over another.”
Meanwhile, faith groups continue to express alarm. World Methodists said: “We have been horrified by the scenes of violence in east Jerusalem which threaten the fragility of the Holy City, and call on the Israeli government to permanently halt the threatened evictions of Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, where clashes have also taken place. We urge calm on all sides and ask the politicians to enable an environment where justice and healing can be experienced by all.” The statement comes from the World Methodist Council, Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church and the Methodist Church in Britain, which are partners in the Jerusalem Methodist Liaison Office.
The Rev Prof Dr Ioan Sauca, acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches, said: “We appeal urgently to all parties to step back from the brink of even more deadly and destructive conflict. We abhor the violence affecting places of worship, the incursions into the al-Aqsa mosque, and the attacks against synagogues in Lod. We pray that the holy places of Jerusalem and the region will not be further desecrated by violence and violations, but instead become centres of inspiration for peace.”
44% of academies breaking the law by not timetabling RE
An Ofsted review of religious education, which remains compulsory in schools, says up to 44 per cent of academies are breaking the law by not timetabling the subject for children aged 14-16. And most academies are falling short in the requirement to offer more than 5 per cent of the timetable to the subject. But, the report, says RE is vital in enabling pupils to take their place in a diverse multi-religious and multi-secular society, being intellectually challenging and personally enriching. A school’s RE syllabus is agreed locally and the report says the quality of what is offered can be affected adversely by lack of time given to the subject, lack of opportunities to take RE exams, a lack of consideration about what it means to be critically and objectively “scholarly” and a lack of clarity on what constitutes reliable knowledge, leading to teachers embedding “unhelpful misconceptions”.
Professor Trevor Cooling, chairman of the Religious Education Council of England and Wales, said: “The review spells out the essential role that RE plays in every young person’s academic and personal development and emphasises the value that an education in religious and non-religious world views provides in later life.”
Katie Freeman, who chairs the National Association of Teachers of RE, said: “The need for high-quality teaching in all schools for all pupils, both from an academic perspective and for each pupil’s personal development, is abundantly clear in the Ofsted report.
Every local authority has a Sacre — standing advisory council on RE — that advises on religious education and collective worship. The executive committee of their national body, Nasacre, said that addressing the challenges of making time available for the subject, clarifying the knowledge pupils should build and ensuring high-quality assessment “may well need increased resource and local authorities should be ready to fund Sacres to help to ensure that schools are delivering high-quality RE in their area.”
How religion in Scotland has helped to influence nationalism
The Scottish National Party has retained control of the Holyrood parliament — but how important has religion been in the development of Scottish nationalism? The Religion Media Centre consulted a group of academic specialists to consider this question in its weekly media online briefing. They charted the modern history of Scotland, whose national identity is intertwined with Protestantism, while assimilating pockets of Irish Catholicism, the growth of Islam and now rising secularisation. Protestantism has been deeply woven into the British project from the beginning, but in today’s multifaith, multicultural and diverse society, there are links between minority religious groups and nationalists, the briefing was told. Full report here. See the briefing here
Hijab on election poster causes protest
The head of President Macron’s centrist political party has threatened to withdraw support for an election candidate pictured wearing a hijab. Sara Zemmahi, a quality engineer, was standing for election in Montpellier and a campaign poster showed her with a white headscarf. But the party leader is reported to have said that wearing ostentatious religious symbols in a campaign document is not compatible with the values of the party. The picture should be changed or support would be withheld.
Eid in London is marked on 13 May
Eid, marking the end of fasting during Ramadan, happens throughout the world from 12-14 May. The Co-ordination Committee of Mosques and Islamic Centres in London has announced that Eid is on Thursday 13 May. The timing depends on the sighting of the crescent moon. Covid restrictions mean the usual community gatherings, with special food and prayers, cannot take place in the same way this year, but prayers in mosques and socially distanced outdoor events are permitted. Larbi Megari, a journalist in Algiers, described the sadness and fear as Muslims navigated their way through Ramadan in lockdown.
