UK Muslims gather to promote tolerance
Thousands of British Muslims are gathering at a mass peace rally in Surrey aimed at promoting religious tolerance and rejecting extremism. An estimated 5,000 members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA), considered the biggest Muslim youth group in the United Kingdom, will participate in the three-day event starting on Friday to promote dialogue about peace and rejection of religious extremism. ‘The Ahmadiyya Youth at the rally will be reminded of their duty, as Muslims, to serve their country and play a positive role in society,’ the AMYA said in a press release on Friday. Rafiq Hayat, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, said that the community was ‘troubled by the violence and terrorism that is based on a highly toxic extremist ideology that uses religion to further a fascist agenda. We share Prime Minister David Cameron's concern about how events in Syria and Iraq can have a potential impact on the UK,’ Hayat said.
Meriam Ibrahim re-released
Latest reports suggest that the Christian Sudanese mother-of-two who was sentenced to death for apostasy, released, and then detained at the airport yesterday, has been freed once more. Meriam Ibrahim was sentenced to 100 lashes and death by hanging on May 11. Though she was brought up as a Christian her whole life, Meriam was found guilty of converting from Islam and was also accused of adultery after marrying a Christian man - a union deemed invalid under Sharia law. Her punishment gained international attention, and campaigners from all over the world called on the Sudanese government to allow her to walk free. Her shock release from prison on Monday was therefore welcomed after the courts found her to be innocent of all charges. However, the BBC reported yesterday that Ibrahim had been arrested and taken into custody at Khartoum airport while trying to leave the country.
UK Muslims gather to promote tolerance
Thousands of British Muslims are gathering at a mass peace rally in Surrey aimed at promoting religious tolerance and rejecting extremism. An estimated 5,000 members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA), considered the biggest Muslim youth group in the United Kingdom, will participate in the three-day event starting on Friday to promote dialogue about peace and rejection of religious extremism. ‘The Ahmadiyya Youth at the rally will be reminded of their duty, as Muslims, to serve their country and play a positive role in society,’ the AMYA said in a press release on Friday. Rafiq Hayat, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, said that the community was ‘troubled by the violence and terrorism that is based on a highly toxic extremist ideology that uses religion to further a fascist agenda. We share Prime Minister David Cameron's concern about how events in Syria and Iraq can have a potential impact on the UK,’ Hayat said.
Meriam Ibrahim re-released
Latest reports suggest that the Christian Sudanese mother-of-two who was sentenced to death for apostasy, released, and then detained at the airport yesterday, has been freed once more. Meriam Ibrahim was sentenced to 100 lashes and death by hanging on May 11. Though she was brought up as a Christian her whole life, Meriam was found guilty of converting from Islam and was also accused of adultery after marrying a Christian man - a union deemed invalid under Sharia law. Her punishment gained international attention, and campaigners from all over the world called on the Sudanese government to allow her to walk free. Her shock release from prison on Monday was therefore welcomed after the courts found her to be innocent of all charges. However, the BBC reported yesterday that Ibrahim had been arrested and taken into custody at Khartoum airport while trying to leave the country.
Fresh travel chaos as emergency passports may not be accepted
Fresh travel chaos emerged today as ministers admitted emergency passport extensions are not accepted in dozens of holiday hotspots. Nearly three quarters of countries will not accept passports given 12-month extensions under plans to alleviate the crisis. Popular travel destinations including Australia, China, India and Brazil are excluded from the list. The USA, Cyprus and Turkey – which were last year on the list of the seven most popular overseas holiday destinations for Britons – are also not allowing the passports. It’s another hugely embarrassing blow for Home Secretary Theresa May who last week announced that expat Britons who need to renew their passports would be given one-year extensions. The emergency move was supposed to ease the pressure of the recent surge in demand for the documents that has seen up to 55,000 people at risk of missing their holidays. But now the government has admitted only 50 countries have confirmed they will accept the extended passports.
John Sentamu condemns businesses that underpay workers
Dr John Sentamu has condemned businesses that pay less than the living wage, calling on the government to put an end to the harsh reality for millions of UK workers: ‘Low wages equals living in poverty.’ The Archbishop is the chairman of the Living Wage Commission, an independent inquiry into the rise of low pay and working poverty across Britain. Its first report, published in February, found that 6.7 million of the 13 million people in poverty in the UK are in working households – the first time that the figure has reached over 50 per cent. The report also revealed that 21 per cent of the workforce, 5.24 million Brits, are paid below a Living Wage, while housing costs have tripled in 15 years and bills have increased by a staggering 88 per cent since 2009.
UK law is 'intolerant' towards Christians, says cardinal
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor warns that UK law does not protect the rights of Christians, branding it ‘intolerant’. The former Catholic Archbishop has called for greater religious freedom in Britain, insisting that the law has done ‘too little’ to protect and promote the rights of Christians. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor has written an open letter to The Telegraph in response to its leader article which declared: ‘It is obvious that there is a growing conflict between religious freedom and legislation on equality, and that a new balance has to be struck’. The Telegraph itself was responding to a recent speech given by Baroness Hale, the UK's most senior female judge, who suggested that the law may be discriminatory against Christians. Speaking before the Law Society of Ireland in Dublin, Hale highlighted the case of Christian hoteliers Peter and Hazelmary Bull, who were found guilty of discrimination against a gay couple after instituting a policy that only married couples were allowed to stay in their double bedrooms.
Thousands of mothers involved in repeat child care cases
Thousands of mothers over the past seven years have had successive children removed by family courts in England, the BBC has learned. Court records for that period show 7,143 mothers were involved in repeat care cases - affecting 22,790 children. The research was carried out by the Universities of Brunel and Manchester and funded by the Nuffield Foundation. This is the first time such data has been produced. It backs up what judges have observed in their own courts for many years - that many mothers are stuck in a destructive cycle of pregnancies and care proceedings. The courts remove a young child or baby from a mother, owing to abuse or neglect, only to see the same mother return to court a year or two later, with a new baby, and unable to care for that one either. Most misuse drink or drugs - or both.
UK boys 'lured to Syria to fight'
The father of a British teenager who travelled to Syria to join jihadists believes his son was radicalised by an imam at a UK mosque. Rahim Kalantar told the BBC his son Ali, 18, travelled to Syria with two friends from Coventry in March, and he believed he was now fighting with ISIS. He said he believed Ali - who was planning to study computer science at university - had been radicalised during classes at a mosque after evening prayer. ‘He [the imam] encouraged them and sent them down this road,’ he said. The iman has denied these allegations. Up to 500 Britons are thought to have travelled to the Middle East to fight in the onflict, officials say.
Central Asia: Persecution threatens summer ministry
Preparations are under way for summer Bible camps in several nations formerly belonging to the Soviet Union. At the same time, in Central Asia persecution is on the rise. ‘For example, in Kazakhstan, one of the largest Central Asian countries - we see that new laws that regulate religious affairs [have] been tightened.’ says Sergey Rakhuba of Russian Ministries. In Uzbekistan, ‘authorities are scared of any evangelical activity,’ Rakhuba continues. Believers are doing whatever they can to overcome persecution and share Christ with the needy. ‘We are preparing for the summer and summer camps – sports camps, community camps – in Central Asia that have become one of the most effective ministries today,’ Rakhuba states. Part of the training students receive from Russian Ministries involves the planning and execution of summer Bible camps in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, and the countries of Central Asia.