Muslims call for 'no-go' CoE bishop to resign

Religious groups have demanded the resignation of the Bishop of Rochester after he claimed that Islamic radicals had turned parts of Britain into "no-go" areas for non-Muslims.

The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali wrote in The Sunday Telegraph that fundamentalism had made some communities hostile to Christians and those from other faiths.

But Mohammed Shafiq, from the Ramadhan Foundation, said: "Mr Nazir-Ali is promoting hatred towards Muslims and should resign."

Ajmal Masroor, of the Islamic Society of Great Britain, said: "It's a distortion of reality.  Our communities are far more integrated than they were 10 years ago.

"If the Church of England had an iota of fairness they would take serious action."

But senior figures from the Church of England have backed the Bishop of Rochester's remarks about faith and said Christians in predominantly Muslim areas could feel isolated and nervous about how to express their belief.

The Bishop of Burnley, the Rt Rev John Goddard, said his colleague had raised serious questions about the role of faith, race and culture in British society.

Bishop Goddard said the increased wearing of the hijab in parts of Britain was a cultural rather than religious phenomenon.

He added: "So many tensions are driven by culture rather than faith. My hope is that we can work effectively across the boundaries of other people then faith can be used as a means to understand each other."

Daily Telegraph, January 7, 2008

Sikh schoolgirl fights ban on bracelet

A Sikh teenager has filed a High Court challenge against her school’s refusal to allow her to wear a religious bangle.

Sarika Singh, 14, has been excluded from Aberdare Girls’ School in South Wales for two months after spending the same amount of time being taught in isolation.  The challenge has been filed on her behalf by Liberty, the human rights group.  It argues that the school has breached race relations and human rights laws.

The school prohibits the wearing of any jewellery other than watches and plain ear studs.

The Times, January 5, 2008

Most asked questions of 2007

The most 'Googled' question of 2007 in the Who is ...? category was "Who is God?" according to Google Zeitgeist. "Who is Jesus?"  came fourth and "Who is Satan?" tenth.
 
In the What is...? category "What is love?" was the most common. "What is bluetooth?" was in sixth position and "What is gout?" in tenth.
 
In the How to... section, "How to kiss" was top, with "How to meditate" seventh and "How to flirt" eighth.

The Times, January 3, 2008

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