‘Misogynyst mosque supporters’ have harassed a key female witness into withdrawing from giving evidence at the megamosque public inquiry being held at the ExCel Centre in London this week. Tehmina Kazi is the Director of British Muslims for Secular Democracy and a crucial opponent of the massive fundamentalist mega-mosque proposed for West Ham in London, close to the Olympic Stadium. She withdrew from the inquiry after being pressured by members of the Muslim-run Newham Peoples Alliance (NPA) while abroad on holiday last weekend. Ms Kazi, a former project officer at the Equality & Human Rights Commission and long-time supporter of Muslim women’s rights, publicly opposed the mega-mosque project at a previous public inquiry in 2011. She has also objected to the anti-women bias of Tablighi Jamaat, the fundamentalist group behind the proposed mosque. ‘Why do Islamists always pick on women?’ said Alan Craig, director of the long-running Mega Mosque No Thanks campaign.
Religion 'makes people more generous'
12 Jun 2014Religion preaches help for the poor and loving your neighbour, but now a new study has provided evidence that religion can make people more generous in their everyday lives. Research commissioned by the BBC found that people who profess a religious belief are significantly more likely to give to charity than non-believers. Sikhs and Jews emerged as the most likely to share their worldly goods with a good cause, just ahead of Christians, Hindus and Muslims. The study, carried out for the BBC's network of local radio stations, included polling by ComRes of a sample of more than 3,000 people of all faiths and none. It found that levels of generosity across the British public are strikingly high, but are highest among those with a religious faith. The Revd Dr Martyn Atkins, General Secretary of the Methodist Church, said: ‘Religious faith should motivate people to acts of generosity, and it’s good to see this reflected in these figures’.
UK child poverty plans doomed to failure
12 Jun 2014Britain's child poverty plans are ‘doomed’ to fail as 3.5 million children will be in poverty by 2020, says a watchdog chaired by former health secretary Alan Milburn. The government's draft strategy for the next three years is a ‘missed opportunity’ and falls far short of what is needed, said the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission. Mr Milburn said: ‘Our new research shows that the gap between the objective of making child poverty history and the reality is becoming ever wider.’ But, he said, child poverty was ‘not just an issue’ for the current government. ‘Across the political spectrum, party leaders now need to come clean about what they plan to do to hit the targets, or what progress they can deliver if they expect to fall short,’ he said.
Scotland’s named person scheme has sparked widespread outrage after it emerged that parents will be reported to the state for trivial family incidents, including forgetting their children’s hospital appointments. Although the scheme is not set to be fully implemented until August 2016, the Scottish Parliament guidance is now being used by the NHS to justify sharing data on children with head teachers. The health board seems to be acting in advance of the law being implemented. Aidan O’Neill QC said the plans appear to be ‘predicated on the idea that the proper primary relationship that children will have for their well-being and development, nurturing and education is with the State rather than within their families and with their parents’. Director of The Christian Institute, Colin Hart, said, ‘The state seems intent on usurping the role of parents and reducing them to helpless spectators in the lives of their children.’
Scottish parliament and secular humanist groups
17 Jun 2014The Edinburgh Secular Society (ESS) claims official guidance was breached when Evangelical Alliance Scotland (EAS) hosted a reception in Holyrood marking the publication of its manifesto ‘What Kind of Nation?’ ESS called the reception (endorsed by a government minister) a ‘book launch’ in the Scottish Parliament which broke the rules. The EAS said they were aware of the rules and denied any breach, saying ‘It was not a launch. We published the document earlier in the week. It was on our website.’ Prayer Alert notes that the attempts to promote secularism within the Scottish Parliament have escalated recently, but we give thanks that the Education and Culture Committee have not taken forward two Secular Humanist groups' petitions. One was for opt-in Religious Observance in schools, and the second was to stop the automatic inclusion of faith members on Council Education Committees. However, there has now been another petition submitted for an increase in Humanist speakers to lead Time for Reflection. See also http://www.ppscotland.org/
Teresa May v corruption in police force
17 Jun 2014The Sunday Times stated that ‘police officers in Downing Street set a trap for Andrew Mitchell, the former Tory cabinet minister; the trap led to plebgate’. A police email sent in September 2012 stated officers planned to stop Mitchell the next time he wanted to cycle through the main gates. When he tried to do so, just hours later, the angry exchange that led to his resignation occurred. Also, hours before the alleged confrontation occurred, one of the Diplomatic Patrol Group asked for ‘backing from his superiors’ if the former Chief Whip was stopped. Last month a judge-led public inquiry was launched into undercover police officers after findings of police corruption in the original Stephen Lawrence investigation. Recently Theresa May attacked police on further corruption and treatment of women and minorities. The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester called for an end to the slanging match between the police and politicians. See also: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2636092/Theresa-Mays-bombshell-attack-police-leaves-rank-file-angry-bewilderedloss-respond.html
Food companies who signed up to the Government’s flagship ‘healthy eating’ pledge have failed to reduce the amount of sugar in some of their best-known brands. The sugar and overall calorie levels in products such as Coca-Cola and Magnum ice creams have remained the same despite their manufacturers promising to help customers to ‘eat and drink fewer calories’. Instead, the companies have reduced sugar in lesser-known products. MPs and campaigners said it showed that the calorie pledge in the Government’s Responsibility Deal, under which food manufacturers pledged to encourage healthier eating, was failing. They called on ministers to introduce specific sugar reduction targets, similar to those in place for salt, to tackle rising levels of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Dr Aseem Malhotra, a cardiologist and Action on Sugar's science director, said the findings suggested food firms were simply paying ‘lip service’ to the Government by signing up to the calorie pledge.
Yorkshire churches are preparing to welcome cycling legends Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins this summer, as the Tour de France begins in Leeds. The Tour is famed for bringing together teams of world-class cyclists, who compete for the elusive yellow jersey over an agonising, and exhausting 23 days. This year, the route will take competitors over a total of 3,656 kilometres from Leeds through Harrogate, York, Sheffield, Cambridge and London before arriving in France and finishing in Paris. Scores of churches from all denominations will line the route and a dedicated website has been set up to allow them to share ideas and resources, giving every community the chance to make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Canon John Carter, communications officer for the diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales, said ‘It's very much an ecumenical thing, and it's about encouraging churches to work together with their local community which has been really good’.