‘British Muslim Network’ to launch next month
The Times reports that Mishal Husain and Baroness Warsi are backing the new “British Muslim Network”, a national body which will liaise with the government. The Times says the Network will include well known people “from the worlds of broadcasting, the arts, film and sport as well as imams, lawyers, doctors and academics”. Successive governments have failed to engage formally with Muslim organisations since 2009, when links were broken with the Muslim Council of Britain. The Times says the new body, to be launched next month, will talk to the government on issues affecting Muslim communities such as health and education, and will hold events for Muslim communities to speak to each other. Baroness Warsi is quoted saying that nationally, governments had only spoken to Muslim representatives “through the prism of counter-terrorism” and various think tanks had been unrepresentative. Brendan Cox, from the Together Coalition, said British Muslim communities have been marginalised for too long and now there is a shared desire to change that. Kaya Burgess report in The Times here
Muslim Council of Britain leadership election tomorrow
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is electing a new secretary-general tomorrow, to oversee its work. Britain has about four million Muslims and the MCB says it is Britain’s largest umbrella body of Muslim organisations, with more than 500 affiliated groups and mosques, which include charities, mosques, schools, and professional networks. Maira Butt outlines the role of the secretary general, the organisation they will represent, the candidates seeking election, the process they will have to undergo to get there and the controversies on the way. The two candidates are both medical doctors – Dr Mohammed Wajid Akhter and Dr Muhammad Adrees. Factfile is here
Southport parish priest says ‘Everyone is heartbroken beyond words‘
Father John Heneghan, the parish priest in Southport who has been at the centre of the town’s response to the brutal murder of three little girls last summer, spoke to Newsnight about how the community is finding strength and dealing with its grief. Fr Heneghan led the funeral service for Alice da Silva Aguiar, aged nine. She along with Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, and Bebe King, aged six, were stabbed to death during a children’s dance class. Their attacker, Axel Rudakubana aged 18, was sentenced yesterday to a minimum of 52 years for his “evil and sadistic” crime. Father Heneghan said the whole community was grieving with the families, especially after harrowing details were given in court. The challenge was to turn the anger towards a source of healing, helping other people. “Everyone is heartbroken beyond words”, he said.
US Faith leaders pledge resistance to Trump’s mass deportation
Faith leaders across America are echoing Bishop Mariann Budde’s appeal to Donald Trump to show mercy to immigrants who are scared for their future because of his policy on mass deportation. The Associated Press has spoken to many clergy who have pledged to resist, including opening their churches as sanctuaries for undocumented migrants, despite Trump making clear he won’t ban immigration arrests in churches. The clergy quoted in a lengthy article say people are in fear to such an extent that they are worried attending Mass would be risky. This fear and resistance is reported by clergy in many Christian denominations and mosques in Oregon, Philadelphia, New York City, Texas, southeastern states and Los Angeles. The AP article also found support for Trump among Southern Baptists, with one saying: “if there’s an illegal activity on any square inch of America, the authorities have a right to go in”, though he doubted churches would be in the first line of attack.
‘Emergency’ film screenings cancelled after Sikh protests
Cinemas in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and west London have cancelled screenings of the film “Emergency” after protests at its “anti-Sikh Indian state propaganda”. The film tells the story of India in 1975-77 when Indira Ghandi’s government declared a state of emergency after her election victory was declared null and void, a period when civil liberties were suspended. The Sikh Press Association says the film perpetuates anti-Sikh hate and objects to its depiction of Indira Gandhi and “revered Sikh figures”. There are reports that its showing in Harrow was disrupted last weekend “when a group of 30 masked men barged into the cinema and started shouting “down with India”. Most viewers left the screening, with one eyewitness describing the behaviour as frightening and intimidating. Protests have also taken place in Telford, Slough and Staines.
Renewal of grants for listed places of worship ‘doesn’t go far enough’
The National Churches Trust has expressed caution at the government’s decision to renew the Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme for just one year. The scheme allows churches to reclaim VAT on repairs and the renewal was announced by Sir Chris Bryant MP in a Westminster Hall debate this week. The overall budget has been reduced to £23 million from £29 million and there is a limit of £25,000 that can be claimed through the scheme. Sir Philip Rutnam, Chair of the National Churches Trust, has issued a statement saying the deal “simply does not provide enough certainty or support for places of worship, who need more time to plan and deliver repairs, which typically take longer than a year…We will be doing all we can to urge the Government to make this scheme permanent and reverse the cuts and the budget cap”.
CofE synod papers published on safeguarding structure and same sex blessings
Details of the proposals for a new independent safeguarding structure in the Church of England, have been published ahead of the February meeting of the General Synod. There are two possible models. In one model, safeguarding officers currently working in dioceses, cathedrals and the national Church would transfer to work for a new organisation. In the other model, diocesan and cathedral officers would remain with their current employers but most national staff would move to a new body. In both cases, safeguarding work would be scrutinised by a second external body. Synod will also debate the Makin review into the abuse by the barrister John Smyth, which prompted Justin Welby’s resignation. The Synod will also consider a report on progress over introducing bespoke services of blessing for same sex couples, an idea which has split the church with threats of schism from those who disagree. No vote will be taken this time, and the bishops have already said the issue won’t be ready for a vote in July, delaying further a process which has already dragged on for years. More details of the agenda here
Plea for more working class CofE priests
The Rev Alex Frost, who left school at 15 and worked for Argos before becoming a priest in the Church of England, is calling for a national strategy to encourage vocations among working-class people. The Guardian reports his idea that people training for the priesthood should have a portfolio of work rather than an academic body of work. He said he still feels like an outsider in the church but there were untapped resources of people like him. Guardian report is here
Substack journalism grows 40 per cent in a year, earning writers £ millions
The UK Press Gazette has published a list of the top earning Substack email newsletters, where writers pick a topic and build an audience asking for monthly subscriptions. It has found that the number of Substacks earning at least £400,000 a year, has doubled in two years. The only substack in the Top 20 within the “faith and spirituality” genre, is “Tipping Point Prophecy Update” by Pastor Jimmy Evans, predicting the end of times, which rakes in £650,000 a year. Substack is listed as a news website by the data analyst company SimilarWeb, attracting 95 million visits a month, up 40 per cent in one year. Many of the writers are journalists, but the most popular is “Letters from an American”, by US historian Heather Cox Richardson, who teaches at Boston College, a Jesuit research institute. She has almost two million subscribers and the Press Gazette calculates this could earn her £4 million a year.
Humanists condemn Christian schools’ VAT action
Humanists UK has criticised the decision by a group of Christian schools, parents, and pupils who are suing the government over the new policy for private schools in England to pay VAT. The group’s legal team claims that the “heavy secularisation of state schools, and even Church of England schools, mean that children would not be taught in line with the family’s Christian beliefs”. However, Kieran Aldred, of Humanists UK commented: “There should be no discriminatory exemptions made in the government’s private schools VAT policy to financially privileged schools of a religious character.”
Challenge to Quebec law which stops women in top jobs wearing the hijab
The Supreme Court in Canada has agreed to hear a challenge to Quebec’s controversial secularism law, which prohibits certain public workers in senior positions from wearing religious symbols at work. It means that kippahs, turbans and crosses are prohibited, but it is said to disproportionately affect Muslim women who are prevented from wearing the hijab. Quebec’s justice minister and the minister responsible for secularism said they would defend the 2019 law “until the end”. Quebec had to make its own choices and it was an affront to its autonomy to take the case to the Supreme Court. Guardian story here
‘Conclave’ success turning Vatican process into Box Office Gold
Conclave, the film telling a story about the process by which Cardinals select the Pope, has been nominated for eight Oscars: Best Actor, Ralph Fiennes; Best Supporting Actress, Isabella Rossellini; Best Editing, Nick Emerson; Best Adapted Screenplay, Peter Straughan Best; Original Score, Volker Bertelmann; Best Production Design, Suzie Davies; and Best Costume Design, Lisy Christl. Its plot of dark secrets, power, ambition and deep theological divisions, is laced with unbelievable twists condemned by some reviewers. But others point to the strength of character and resistance to corruption among the Conclave, and can even see a call for a renewed spirituality centred on humility, meekness and doubt. The film has grossed $77.6 million worldwide.
