Blasphemy, treachery, and craven-hearted submission
On Thursday, 13th March, for the third year in a row, hundreds of Muslims gathered to hold a Grand Iftar – the evening meal at which Muslims break their daily fast during Ramadan – inside Bristol Cathedral. Preceded by the Adhan, the Muslim call to prayer at sunset – once again recited from inside the cathedral – the assembled crowd triumphantly proclaimed that Allah is the greatest, that there is no god but Allah, and that Mohammed is his messenger. Branded a significant act of community cohesion by Cathedral staff, it was been hailed as an attempt to foster interfaith dialogue and create a welcoming space for those of other faiths who worship the same god.
We await with bated breath Muslim groups hosting reciprocal events, where Christians are welcomed into mosques to proclaim the message of Christ.
That aside, however, let us be absolutely clear. Allah – a god of judgement, conquest and submission – is not the same as the One, true, loving, God worshipped by Christians. Muslims categorically deny the divinity and status of Christ as God’s own Son, downgrading Him instead to the position of a prophet, superseded and outranked by Mohammed. The proclamation that there is no god but Allah inside one of the UK’s hitherto most sacred spaces is, therefore, a direct insult to Christianity and blasphemy. But the betrayal doesn’t end there. For Muslims, the Adhan, by extension, is a proclamation of control and is territorial. It is seen as a declaration of sovereignty. From which it follows that, henceforth, Bristol Cathedral will be regarded by Muslims as belonging to Islam. It is this that the hierarchy of the Church of England has apparently approved.
Meanwhile, local authorities across the north of England have issued a “Guidance” entitled Sharing the Journey, encouraging teachers to adapt lesson plans so as not to offend parents’ religious sensibilities. As part of a broader scheme of direction, for example, the guidance says that it is very important schools understand and be careful not to ask students to reproduce images of Jesus, Prophet Mohammed or other figures considered to be prophets in Islam. It goes on to state that some Muslim pupils may also not want to draw the human figure, because that too is considered idolatrous. Which you may think is all well and good – to echo the misplaced conceit of Bristol Cathedral, that schools will simply be supporting interfaith dialogue and creating a welcoming space for Muslims. But consider, Christianity has a long and highly influential tradition of religious art – which has indeed done much to shape our culture – and, at major festivals, children are regularly encouraged to sketch pictures representing the story being celebrated, while more broadly, in general art, young children are frequently encouraged to paint pictures of their families, as well as of nature.
But under the approach enjoined in the Guidance, all such pictures may well be branded blasphemous, irrespective of whether or not the children involved are Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu … or whatever. At base, this is an attack on traditional British identity and culture, so how is that we are allowing an ethnically alien, minority group – that openly disapproves of Western values – to call the shots in this way? There are also recommended restrictions on the teaching of dance, drama, music, and games, with advice that girls wear head coverings that can be tied back, sports hijabs, and full-length lycra swimsuits for swimming.
Muslims may well have come to our country in search of a better life than that offered in their home countries, but the idea of their integrating and fitting into our culture appears increasingly to be a mockery. Far from wanting to integrate, it would seem they wish to impose their own values – which demand compliance with Sharia law, and place women in a position of inferiority.
Yet perhaps most horrifying of all is the complicity of Government, the police, and the press to ignore, deny and even welcome this blatant and open assault on our culture. Every day we see fresh examples of attempted Muslim expansionism, yet these seem to be either resolutely ignored or downplayed to the point of non-existence. The continuing problem of grooming gangs, for instance – there is still a clear problem, not just in a few poverty-stricken Northern towns, but across the country as a whole, including London. Yet despite the evidence, Sadiq Khan resolutely maintains there’s no problem.
Then there’s the al-Quds march, banned for fear of the violence it might produce. Demonstrators instead held a static rally at which – entirely predictably – there were calls for death to the IDF and vocal support for Iran, followed in the evening by a large number of Muslim men gathered for public prayer in Old Palace Yard outside Westminster, led by the Hamas linked group, Friends of Al-Aqsa. Coverage in the press has been muted, to say the least, without any sign of condemnation or criticism – but if it had been a rally led by someone such as Tommy Robinson, Nigel Farrage or Rupert Lowe, and there were no arrests for public disorder, the airways would have been ablaze with disapproval, with politicians loudly condemning such a display of imperialistic nationalism!
It is beyond question that pro-Palestinian groups are becoming more vocal in their demands that we support Islamic war aims in the Middle East, as well as here in our own country. All of which is contributing to the horrifying and unprecedented rise in anti-Semitism that we are seeing. Yet though the latter is acknowledged to be a growing problem, it is far eclipsed by Government calls to crack down on anti-Muslim hostility, and what it brands Islamophobia.
The known propensity of fundamentalist Muslims to violent extremism is clearly a major concern. We have already seen too many attacks and even murders on our streets of those deemed hostile to the prophet, but the way we seem to be placating, rather than dealing with, such examples of disorder and affray is scandalous. Britain has a long tradition of tolerance towards those who hold different views, and we have traditionally welcomed all – but those coming to our country must integrate and comply with our culture. They must not try and impose their beliefs and take over. And certainly, they should not be assisted to do so.
Listen to Lynda in conversation with Rodney Hearth of Air TV on the topic: Danger – Christianity and Islam