Islamic UK in 30 Years

[cnredd]

I've always thought 50 years, but I'm not over on that side of the pond, so my guess was less hypothetical...

Religious trends and our religious future

If recent reports of trends in religious observance prove to be correct, then in some 30 years the mosque will be able to claim that, religiously speaking, the UK is an Islamic nation, and therefore needs a share in any religious establishment to reflect this. The progress of conservative Islam in the UK has been amazing, and it has come at a time of prolonged decline in church attendance that seems likely to continue.

This progress has been enthusiastically assisted by this government in particular with its hard-line multi-cultural dogma and willingness to concede to virtually every demand made by Muslims. Perhaps most importantly the government has chosen to allow hard-liners to act as representing all Muslims, and more liberal Muslims have almost completely failed to produce any leadership voices to compete, leading many Britons to wonder if there are indeed many liberal Muslims at all, surely a mistake.

At all levels of national life Islam has gained state funding, protection from any criticism, and the insertion of advisors and experts in government departs national and local. A Muslim Home Office adviser, for example, was responsible for Baroness Scotland’s aborting of the legislation against honour killings, arguing that informal methods would be better. In the police we hear of girls under police protection having the addresses of their safe houses disclosed to their parents by Muslim officers who think they are doing their religious duty.

While men-only gentlemen’s clubs are now being dubbed unlawful, we hear of municipal swimming baths encouraging ‘Muslim women only’ sessions and in Dewsbury Hospitals staff waste time by turning beds to face Mecca five times a day — a Monty Pythonesque scenario of lunacy, but astonishingly true. Prisons are replete with imams who are keen to inculcate conservative Islam in any inmates who are deemed to be culturally ‘Muslim’: the Prison service in effect treats such prisoners as a cultural block to be preached to by imams at will. Would the Prison service send all those with ‘C of E’ on their papers to confirmation classes with the chaplain?! We could go on.

When in Rome...Take over!...

[Voice of Reason]

These are just scare stories, with a dubious motive. The actual percentage of the UK population that is Muslim is very small, less than 3%, and the Jedi Knights are catching up fast.

Dewsbury is well known to me. My mother is from Dewsbury, and I lived there for most of my childhood. My daughter was born in Dewsbury and District Hospital, though it was called Stainecliffe General at that time.

Stainecliffe is almost entirely Muslim, so the hospital gets a lot of Muslim patients. This idea of turning beds came from a discussion with the local community leaders aimed at improving the service. Halal meals was another idea. The Mid-Yorkshire NHS Trust ran a short pilot scheme, but found it was too inconvenient and instructed nurses to consider turning beds for terminally ill patients

Having said that, it does raise questions of how much accommodation would be made for Christian patients in hospital in a Muslim country. I had the misfortune of being in hospital in Jakarta. While the staff were very pleasant and generally helpful, I wasn't offered non-Halal food, or access to Christian prayer room.

Personally, I think as a predominantly Christian country, the UK government should look at how it's Christian citizens are treated in Islamic countries. Hell, even comparatively moderate Islamic countries such as Indonesia or Malaysia practice positive discrimination against other religions - and then they ask for special treatment like this when they move to a non-Ialamic country?!

[saltwn]

At a local college, the music room which had been donated by the LDS church was closed because it was an infringement, but Muslim exchange students were offered rescheduled dining times to accommodate their religious observance of not eating until after dark during one of their holy periods.
The LDS (Mormon) church which is famous for producing top notch choirs, moved to a building across the street and still offered music lessons at an increased fee.
I do not mind that we accommodated the Muslim students' religion, but, yes, lets have some equal respect for Christianity!