Displaying items by tag: Politics

Recently we have seen waves of Islamic unrest across France; Muslims engaging in street skirmishes in Spain; and Muslim migrant-related assaults in Germany. Hundreds of Muslims in an English mosque, holding Qurans high, have pledged their allegiance to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and praised martyrs who ‘bled red’ for the ‘axis of resistance’. Two Austrian Muslim teenagers confessed that they intended to attack a Christian school and ‘restore the caliphate’. When confronted in court on 16 July, they admitted, ‘We wanted to shoot all the Christians in the classes.’ When asked what they would do if police intervened, they said they would have surrendered: ‘Allah forgives, and killing Christians takes us to paradise’. Meanwhile, Sweden has elevated the threat level from three to four on a scale of five due to recent Quran burnings.

Georgia prosecutors have charged Donald Trump and 18 others with attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss. Trump is facing thirteen new charges, including racketeering. Racketeering is organised crime where someone makes money through illegal activities. Penalties are prison terms - five to twenty years, or £197,000 fines - which can help persuade subordinates to cut deals with the prosecution in exchange for lesser sentences. Organised criminal activity is prosecuted under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (Rico) Act; this includes convicting mafia bosses. When the court proceedings take place, they will dominate the next presidential election - making it a campaign unlike any other.

Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Kukah of Sokoto, who criticised previous governments’ failure to curb extremist violence and protect Christians, welcomed the new president, Bola Tinubu, and vice-president, Kashim Mustapha, despite fears over them both being Muslims. Bishop Kukah said he has known Tinubu for 20 years and has worked with Kashim Shettima. Referring to the fact that Tinubu is married to a Christian, Shettima said a man who has not Islamised his family will not Islamise Nigeria. Bishop Kukah stressed that politicians should not be assessed by their religion but by their capacity and competence and how they see justice, fairness, and equity, adding ‘Of course, I would like a Catholic president, but he would not govern Catholics, he would govern Nigeria.

The Illegal Migration bill is central to stopping small boats crossing the Channel. A Lords sitting on the Bill branded it disgraceful and made changes. On 12 July MPs rejected those changes. Theresa May said the bill would consign more people to slavery. Many Tories wanted a different approach. But they could not stop MPs rejecting the Lords amendments. The bill now returns to the Lords for more marathon voting sessions. The Lords amendments are backed by figures including Justin Welby. The Salvation Army said, ‘The UK risks undermining our world-leading system of protections and lifesaving services for vulnerable victims of crime. These include people tricked into coming to the UK illegally and under false pretences, to be exploited in our farms, factories, and building sites or trapped and traded in brothels and even homes.’ Should the bill become law, victims will lose vital protection. MPs will debate it again next week.

An Ipsos poll of 1,087 people conducted between June 30 and July 3 suggests Rishi Sunak still has a long way to go to restore the Conservatives’ reputation for competence. Just 23% of people questioned said they think the Tories can run the country competently, while 57% said they cannot. The poll was not completely positive for Labour either, with the public divided on whether they like the Opposition’s policies. 27% say they do, 28% say they do not, and 25% say they don’t know much about them.

Conversations about up-and-coming by-elections aren't popular with Conservative MPs just now. Inflation is not coming down as quickly as hoped. Homeowners are struggling with higher mortgage rates. Small boat crossings reached a new June record this year. Rishi Sunak’s five targets are growing more challenging. Pessimism is not the ideal backdrop for a governing party going into a set of by-elections, which will be an indicator of the political mood in the country. Father God, we hold the nation before you. You are the God who reigns over governments; bring justice where injustice rules. Give strength to the struggling and hope to the hopeless. Grant vision and insight to those with authority to change things for the better. Father God, heal what is hurting and restore what has been broken. You sovereignly place every leader and have marked their days of service. Give them more of Your wisdom for the tasks ahead.

Pope Francis has called on leaders to show compassion for refugees fleeing war, persecution, or poverty. Instead of ensuring they reach safety, the UK government has introduced a new 'Illegal Migration Bill' which would shut the door on people needing protection and enable the government to deport them to countries such as Rwanda - a policy the Court of Appeal has ruled unlawful. The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) wants people to ask their MPs to oppose the bill so that we can welcome those who need protection. This landmark intervention on domestic policy refers to the Pope's call for the need to show maximum respect for the dignity of each migrant and ‘build bridges not walls’ as well as ‘expanded channels for a safe and regular migration.’ But CAFOD said that instead of showing respect and dignity, the UK government is trying to make the situation for people seeking safety even worse.

The revolt lasted a day but the jealousy, rivalry and ambition that gave rise to it continues. Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin is a criminal who owes his enormous wealth to Putin. His rivals are the military and security elite ruling Russia, while Putin’s ambition is reimposing Russian influence across the globe. Senior Ukrainians are doing their best to manage the summer offensive but believe some Western allies and media supporters have become over-excited about their army and its NATO equipment. Other Ukrainian officials admit they fear a public collapse of Putin's regime might lead to worse danger as his would-be successors jockey for power in a state with the world's biggest arsenal of nuclear weapons. In the uncertainty about what is happening and what it means, we can be certain that God invites us to shape history through prayer and fasting. See also

Michael Lockwood, ex-police watchdog director general, has been accused of six counts of indecent assault and three counts of rape against a girl under 16 during the 1980s. He left his post in December after it emerged he was being investigated over these offences, and has now been charged under the Sexual Offences Act 1956. MP David Warburton is resigning his seat. Last year he was suspended from the party pending the outcome of an independent investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and drug use. On 18 June he said he was resigning because he felt he was denied a fair hearing by the watchdog over the claims that he made unwanted advances to two women. Lord, please guide the direction of our country. Call into politics and the police service people who are in your kingdom.

As another scandal hits the Tory party, its MPs are even more gloomy about how the Prime Minister can project the government as honest and professional. MPs endorsed a report saying that Boris Johnson lied over Partygate. But 225 of Boris’s former Conservative MP colleagues were absent, including Rishi Sunak who has not said if he agrees or disagrees with the report’s findings. See Eight months into Boris’s leadership, he faced Covid. Eight months into Rishi’s leadership, he struggles to distance himself from the Conservative chaos and deliver a government of ‘integrity, professionalism and accountability’ as he promised in October. A former cabinet minister said, ‘We can’t sell a vision to the public if Rishi doesn’t have one himself. He needs to think big, be creative, and articulate a dream the public will want to live by.’ Pray for Rishi Sunak to have heaven's wisdom in the current crisis.