The Bridge

May 2008, Issue No. 31
The Journal of the Churches' Agency for Inter Faith Relations in Scotland

CAIRS Events

Sunday June 8, 2008 from 12.30pm to 2.30pm
Visit to Sikh Gurudwara
An opportunity to meet with members of the Sikh community in Scotland, and observe their form of worship.  Last year some of us were privileged to hear Mrs Ravinder Kaur Nijjar lead an excellent introductory study day that let us know about the Sikh faith and its Scottish community.  It was suggested at the time that a visit to a Gurudwara would be most enlightening, and so I invite you to register and come along for this visit. All visitors (men and women) will need to cover their heads and if would be preferable if women wear either a long skirt or trousers.  Note that much of the time will be spent sitting on the floor.  Services are very free and easy and people can come and go as they like.

Programme
12.30 pm  Meet with Ravinder Kaur Nijjar at the Gurudwara entrance for a brief introduction
1.00 pm Opportunity to observe Sikh worship and listen to Keertan (hymn singing). Followed by Langar (Shared vegetarian meal) provided for all Gurudwara visitors.

Please register before June 3 by post to Andrew Sarle, CAIRS, ACTS, Inglewood, Alloa FK10 2HU or phone01259 222 364 (Calls diverted to my mobile, but leave a message if I don't answer) or email me. 

Venue: Guru Nanak Gurdwara, 27 Otago Street, Kelvinbridge, Glasgow, G12 8JJ

Directions:
By Train:   Take the Subway to Kelvinbridge Station.  Go up the steps onto Great Western Road, turn left, cross the river Kelvin, and take the first road on your left (Caledonian Cres.) This meets Otago Street.
By Bus:   11.58 First Glasgow Bus no. 66, George Sq. to Great Western Rd./Montague St. (arr. 12.16) or Great Western Rd./Bank St. (arr. 12.18) 2 min walk to Otago St.
By Car:    Leave the M8 at junction 17 (SP A82 Dumbarton),drive along the Great Western Road, after approx 1 Km, turn left into Caledonian Crescent.

Full details of the planned visit, a map and a registration form can be downloaded (pdf, 151 Kb) here. 

Thursday, September 25, 2008
Jesus and Other Faiths
A study day in the "Christianity and Scotland's Other Faiths" series to be held in Scottish Churches' House, Dunblane. 
Further details will be circulated in due course.

Other Events

Wednesday, May 21, 7.30pm
The Worldwide Resurgence of Religion - and the Problem of 'Religious Violence'
A lecture by Rev. Brian Cooper and discussion St Marks Unitarian church, Castle Terr., Edinburgh

Friday, May 23, from 11am
Christians and Muslims Working Together
Volunteers are needed to take part in an exciting Inter-Faith project. Govanhill Trinity Church is looking for volunteers to help to paint the Church Hall. So come along and show your love for your neighbour in a practical way. We will be helped by young volunteers all the way from Syria and from our kind friends at Central Mosque. So if they can give up their time then I am sure you can. Lunch will be provided. For more details phone Iain Stewart on 0141 352 6946 or email Iain.  Remember to bring along your old clothes.

Tuesday, June 3, 5.30pm to 6.30pm
"Build bridges, not walls! It's time for Palestine"
Help launch this WCC week of action and advocacy in Scotland. Join Scottish Church leaders and Scottish Members of Parliament who also "believe it is time for both nations to share a just peace." Hosted by the Scottish Parliament Cross Party Group on Palestine in Committee Room 1 of the Scottish Parliament
RSVP: Nancy Adams (member of the Church and Society Network of Action of Churches Together in Scotland) e-mail Nancy or 01506 853110 or Tony Grahame (secretary to the Cross Party Group on Palestine) e-mail Tony.

June 16, 2008
Meeting of the Interfaith Legal Adviser Network
The Centre for Law and Religion at Cardiff University established the Interfaith Legal Adviser Network in December 2007.  The first of its kind in the UK, the Network seeks to facilitate an ongoing discussion providing members with a greater understanding of their respective religious legal systems and the common legal issues they face. Further details.
On 16th June 2008, the Centre will host the second meeting of the Network. The meeting will focus upon (i) marriage, including discussion of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 and interfaith marriages, and (ii) discrimination law, looking at how laws prohibiting discrimination upon grounds of sex, religion or belief and sexual orientation affects faith groups. If you are interested in attending this meeting please email Russell Sandberg

Thursday, July 24, 7.30pm
"East-West Bridges of Faith and Peace"
Christian - Buddhist - other contributions.  A Europe - Asia dialogue for peace by faith traditions.  Further information from Brian Cooper, 0131 446 9545
28 Great King St., Edinburgh

See the Events Page for details of other events that were publicised in the last issue of The Bridge

Christian Bridge building

Respectful Presence: An understanding of interfaith prayer and celebration from a reformed Christian perspective
Respectful Presence is a way to follow Jesus of Nazareth, who met with people of many cultures and religions even as he fulfilled the nature and purpose of his God-given mission. Our expectation is that the practice of respectful presence can enable Christians to have fruitful experiences of interfaith dialogue, celebration, or worship. At the same time, our expectation is that respectful presence with people of other faiths can lead Christians into a fuller understanding and experience of their own faith. A study guide and a sample service are included. You can download this booklet from (pdf, 250 Kb)

Archbishop and Pope talk about Christian-Muslim relations
Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has described his private meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican earlier this week as "friendly and informal". They spent almost half an hour in the Pope's study.  Afterwards Dr Williams said: "[W]e discussed a number of ecumenical issues, some of the Pope's impressions from his American visit and common issues in Christian Muslim dialogue." Dr Williams has been in Rome to convene the 7th Building Bridges Seminar, a gathering of Christians and Muslims.
Ekklesia, May 9

Building Bridges with Judaism 

Jews suspend dialogue with Church
The Austrian Jewish community has suspended all official dialogue with the Catholic Church in the aftermath of the publication of the new Good Friday prayer for the Jews for use in the Tridentine Rite. Austria's Jewish Cultural Community said it was "deeply dismayed" by Pope Benedict's decision to re-allow the Tridentine Good Friday liturgy. Chief Rabbi Paul Chaim Eisenberg said that in the revised version of the Good Friday Prayer Judaism was regarded as a second-class faith and the aim of the prayer was that Jews might come to 'see the Redeemer'. "That is something the Pope may wish for in his heart but it should not be put into words in a liturgy."
Christa Pongratz-Lippitt writing in The Tablet, Apr.26

Relations with Other Faiths
This month's feature from Iain Stewart of the Church of Scotland on Shauvot can be found on the Church of Scotland website.  

Building Bridges with Islam

Obituary for David Kerr (1945-2008)
David Kerr was one of the most significant figures in the contemporary encounter between Christianity and the world of Islam.  From initial work with the BBC he became an academic, teaching in Birmingham, Hartford in Connecticut, and Edinburgh before his final post as Professor of Mission at the University of Lund, in Sweden.  In 1976 he founded the Centre for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at the Selly Oak Colleges in Birmingham - work now taken up in a slightly different form in Birmingham University.  Generations of students, both Christian and Muslim, have been grateful for his unbounded commitment to his students and his capacity to draw out of them much more than they realised was there.  Almost immediately he arrived in Sweden he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, and he was still supervising doctoral theses - using a voice-activated computer because his hands would no longer work - when that cruel illness brought his life to an end.

I know from personal experience as a PhD student of his that he would neither discourage with beyond what many lecturers would consider reasonable, limited his output of publications, but extended his range of sympathy and understanding of the way that other minds work.  At Edinburgh he was the first Professor in the Study of Non-Western Christianity. Few academics have had more experience in encountering and promoting Christianity as a world, not just a western, religion.

David Kerr came from a family with deep roots in the Presbyterian and Congregational churches.  His father was a URC minister.  After a first degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies in London David read Theology at Oxford, and took the ordination course for URC ministers at Mansfield College, though he was never ordained, eventually finding his vocation in teaching.  After his PhD he worked in the Arabic service of the BBC, developing not only his Arabic but a way of speaking which carried personal authority, and stood him in good stead on the many subsequent occasions when Government ministers, MPs and others would seek his advice on relations with the Muslim world.

It is not yet possible properly to assess the importance of his work with the world of Islam.  It lives on through his students and through the tone which he set in all the places where he lived and worked - a sense of confidence in the Christian faith and also an openness to all the others who live by different faiths.  The polemical style of so much Christian representation of other faiths in the past seemed to him to be false witness, an offence against the ninth commandment.  To this search for a truer assessment of other faiths he added, following Kenneth Cragg, a hospitality of mind and a great gift for friendship.

These things he shared with his wife Gun Holmström, a Swedish-speaking nurse from Finland.  They married in 1970 and had two children, Simeon and Anna. Simeon is currently following in his father's footsteps as a journalist in the Middle East.
Christopher Lamb
Wellesbourne, Warwickshire

There is little that I can add to Christopher's reflection on the life of David Kerr, other than to pay my own personal tribute to him as someone who was a major influence through my academic theological education and whose inspirational teaching led me to a career in my inter faith bridge building.

Global Co-operation of World Faiths for World Peace: An Islamic Perspective
The text of the address given in Edinburgh earlier this month by Iman Dr Abduljalil Sajid can be downloaded here. (pdf, 422 Kb)  This talk was Dr Sajid's contribution to a discussion on 'A Common Word' that was organised by Edinburgh Inter Faith Association, and was responded to by Father Chris Boles SJ and Buddhist Jon Bagust. Dr Sajid said on the necessity for dialogue and cooperation, "In my faith tradition the Holy Qur'an commands believers for interfaith co-operation "to come to common grounds" (Holy Qur'an 3:64). As a Muslim I have been ordered to build good relations with all people of the world (Holy Qur'an 49:13 & 16:40); work for peace everywhere and whenever possible with others (Holy Qur'an 2:208 and 8:61); cooperate with others in furthering virtue and God-consciousness (5:2); seek and secure human welfare, promote justice and peace (Holy Qur'an 4:114); do good to others (The Holy Qur'an28:77) and not to break promises made to others (Holy  Qur'an 16:91)."

Muslims and Christians tackle migration together in Lebanon dialogue
"Migration is a human concern, not a Muslim or a Christian one, and therefore Christians and Muslims must act on it together." Representatives of the Druze, Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim communities met with Metropolitans of the Maronite (Catholic) Church and the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch as well as Catholicos Aram I, head of the Armenian Orthodox Church (See of Cilicia). Both Muslim and Christian leaders stressed that Lebanon with its diverse religions not merely coexisting but "living together under one roof" has a message for those countries who struggle with the diversity that accompanies immigration. They also warned: "Those who speak of a clash of civilizations are setting a trap for both Christians and Muslims - we must be vigilant."
WCC News, Apr.15
Ekklesia, Apr.17

Churches to meet with Muslim leaders in Denmark
A number of Danish churches have praised an open letter published by 138 prominent Muslim scholars and have pledged to meet with leaders of Islam in Denmark to continue this exchange. The dean of Copenhagen cathedral and the general secretary of the Danish National Council of Churches sent a response on behalf of churches in Denmark to the Muslim scholars' letter of October 2007 to church leaders around the world. "The letter is a comprehensive, brave, and learned document that incorporates an opening in relation to Christianity that is unique in the history of the world." In their reply, the Danish church leaders said they supported the recognition of the need for dialogue. "We also believe that inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue and cooperation cannot be viewed as being optional, but must be seen as a necessity if one wants to promote true respect and avoid violent conflicts." Ekklesia, Apr.17

Imported moderate imams 'will counter fundamentalists'
Moderate Muslim clerics are to be brought in from Pakistan in an effort to combat extremism in British mosques, according to the Home Secretary.  Jacqui Smith struck a deal on a recent visit to Pakistan under which respected imams could be invited to help British Muslims counter the fundamentalists.  The move is part of Government efforts to step up its so-called prevent agenda, which is aimed at tackling jihadi propaganda in Muslim communities.
Daily Telegraph, Apr.16

Christians visit Syria to explore peaceful relations with Muslims
A delegation led by the Rev Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) has travelled to Syria wishing to learn from the country's long experience of Christians and Muslims living peacefully together.
"Islam cannot be studied like grammar," Patriarch Ignatius IV (Hazim) of the Greek Orthodox Church in Syria told them. He added: "We have to see the real people and share with them. Muslims are sharing with you by living in your countries. Why do you ignore them?" the patriarch asked.
Signs of how Syria could be "a good model of how people of different faiths can live together as a people created by One God", were given at the Sheikh Ahmad Kuftaro Foundation, an Islamic centre particularly dedicated to education and interreligious studies. Girls from the foundation's school and its orphanage greeted the ecumenical delegation with songs praising the "prophet Issa" (Jesus), the "caller for love and peace".
WCC News, Apr.24

New research reveals Muslims and Christians share views
Muslims and Christians feel similarly on issues of free speech and violence, according to a new book. Who speaks for Islam? What a billion Muslims really think, by John L Esposito and Dalia Mogahed, is based on six years of research and more than 50,000 interviews representing 1.3 billion Muslims from more than 35 nations that are predominantly Muslim or have sizable Muslim populations.
Ms Mogahed, a senior analyst with the Center for Muslim Studies, emphasized that the perceived conflicts with Islamic communities were not due to religion or values, but rather political policy. The report also concluded that the "popular image of silent submissiveness" of Muslim women was wrong: "Majorities of women in virtually every country we surveyed say that women deserve the same legal rights as men, to vote without influence from family members, to work at any job they are qualified for, and even to serve in the highest levels of government."
On whether the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, was right to suggest the incorporation of Sharia into British law, Ms Mogahed said: "What I believe we need to do is start an open dialogue about religion and its role in British law - not focussing on Sharia or creating another system of courts, but an open dialogue about what can allow everyone to feel like a full citizen.
"Dialogue is more important than a change in law at this time."
Religious Intelligence, Apr.16

New Muslim think-tank aims to challenge extremist ideology
A new Muslim think-tank, which aims to bring together voices who oppose violence and extremism, and who want to explore Islam in a modern European setting, has been launched. Author Ed Husain, who charted his own journey away from what he calls "a dark place" in his controversial book 'The Islamist' is a prime mover in the venture, along with Essex-born Maajid Nawaz.  The Quilliam Foundation (named after a 19th century British convert) is being pitched as advancing the counter-argument to extremism.
The founders say Islam in its purest universal form, as what Muslims believe is the last global message of God to humankind, sits perfectly well in modern multicultural societies - providing that Muslims find the right way to express their faith. If British Muslims rediscover the purity of the faith, they argue, they can cast off the political and cultural baggage that would see Islam as the enemy of the West. The think-tank aims to develop its arguments out of the Islamic theological tradition, rather than simply use Western secular arguments against versions of political Islam which it regards as distorted and damaging.
See the Quilliam Foundation website. 
Ekklesia, Apr.23
BBC News, Apr.22
To lionise former extremists feeds anti-Muslim prejudice It is a mistake to fete these repentant members of Islamist cults. They are part of the problem, not the solution.
When one sinner repents, says the biblical adage, there is much joy in heaven. So the angels, along with the government, must be rejoicing at the launch of the Quilliam Foundation. The thinktank has been established by not one but two repentant sinners: Ed Husain and Maajid Nawaz, ex-members of the extremist Islamic cult Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Ziauddin Sardar writing in The Guardian, Apr.24

Why should Muslims put up with being stereotyped?
Like all other humans, I am a creature of multiple and changeable parts. However, British Muslims are not permitted such complexities. We must be only Muslim (definition highly specified), walking rule books in uniform, freakishly religious, and preferably demanding and noisy.
Authoritarian Muslim "leaders" impose these orders. But so too do many of the influential and powerful for whom there is no such thing as a complicated or comfortable Muslim who skilfully negotiates various allegiances.
British Muslims for Secular Democracy (BMSD) believes the separation of state and faith gives us all a safe and mutual space. Most members are not atheists. We can see clearly how religion is poisoning political governance and that politics contaminates religion. Muslims must be free to choose how they practise their religion or even just to be "cultural" Muslims. Diversity has been the constant companion to our faith since its inception. Most important of all, we hope to speak to young British Muslims who have lost trust and their bearings.
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown writing in The Independent, Apr.28

Building Bridges Together

Ask tough questions about religion
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, has said religions should be prepared to ask difficult questions and he asserts it is unrealistic to live as if there was only one global faith. "Partners in the dialogue must be open to talk about those issues not often put on the table: religious liberty, freedom of conscience, reciprocity, conversion, religious extremism," said Tauran.
The cardinal said that religion should be used as a tool for peace and not war, and he also said that the Roman Catholic Church recognised partners in the dialogue as equals, but this did not mean all religions were more or less equal.
"As might be expected not every person is enthused about interreligious dialogue. There are those who think, if [it is] not a betrayal of the mission of Christ, it is a new method of winning members to Christianity. There are those who hold that the drive of the Church for interreligious relation is an effort to control the spread of other religions. It is not any of those," said Tauran.
The cardinal said dialogue is a bridge-building exercise, dealing with the promotion of harmony and tolerance among religions, going beyond "the niceties of polite conversation which encourages people to stay where they are, and which avoids talking about the grey areas of disagreement" Tauran said, "It is a journey in the search of truth."
At the same meeting in Kenya, Venerable Vanraj Sarvaija, national leader of the Hindu Council of Kenya, said, "Inter-religious dialogue is a key to peace in the world ... If all religions work with the same zeal to uplift mankind to a level where lives of people are governed by better moral and ethical standards … the world would be a better place."
Ekklesia, Apr.19

Police bid to tackle Islamophobia S
cotland's first Muslim Police Association is being created in an attempt to encourage more Muslims to join and stay in the force. Strathclyde Police hopes the group will also help tackle Islamophobia and improve understanding of Islam. "We want to highlight some of the positive things Islam can provide to the communities and not just the police services."
BBC News, May 9

'Preventing violent extremism: Community leadership fund guidance'
Last month the Department for Communities and Local Government issued guidance on a grant fund intended to support work that will build the capacity of individuals, organisations and communities to take the lead on tackling violent extremist influences.  The funding will be focused on the following areas: 1. Capacity of organisations and communities
2. Supporting Muslim young people
3. Supporting Muslim women
4. Capacity of Muslim faith leaders
5. Local forums against extremism and Islamaphobia.

Funding is limited to projects taking place in England but, if you are considering a project in Scotland, contact: Nick Croft, Equalities Unit, Public Health and Wellbeing Division, Area 2 (g) S, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ 

Religion can help with healing, says European parliament head
The president of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, says that in parts of Europe, such as the western Balkans, where internecine "wounds still require healing", spiritual leaders need to be involved in the process.  Pöttering, from Germany, made his remarks on 5 May in a yearly meeting the president of the parliament holds with religious leaders.
"The power of religious authorities to make a significant contribution, through wise leadership, to tackling some of today's major challenges should not be underestimated," Pöttering told the Jewish, Islamic and Christian leaders at the Brussels meeting. He noted that 2008 is the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue and the role which religions can play in reconciliation was a fitting theme.
"True dialogue means each component of society is able to express its point of view with respect for the other," said Pöttering, "Consensus can then emerge."  He added, "I firmly believe that the European Union, as well as our neighbours, can benefit greatly from dialogue between religions … You have a great responsibility in seeking to present an understanding of faith in terms of peaceful coexistence and reconciliation." Religious leaders, he said, can help build a world founded on respect for human dignity.
Ekklesia, May 7

Government grant boosts interfaith relations
Students in Leicester have been improving interfaith relations thanks to a Government grant.  De Montfort University's Student's Union was the first student body to secure funding from the Government's Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund. Christian Unions at universities across the country have come under criticism for their divisive effects. However, this latest scheme saw 200 people involved with inter faith discussion groups and mixed faith trips to locations including Kings College in Cambridge, the Balaji Hindu Temple in Birmingham, and Birmingham Central Mosque.
Religious Intelligence, Apr.17

Re-assessing Turkey's faith and secularism battle
The real struggle in Turkey is not between the religious and the non-religious, but between those who value pluralism and those who want the victory of their ideology.
Both the secularists and the AKP need to abandon their intransigent positions in favour of compromise. The secularists can no longer pretend that Ataturk's ideology is universal, neutral and tolerant. They must accept that a large part of the population does not share their secular creed and never will because it is seen as a threat to the free expression of religious faith.
Ekklesia, Apr.22

Anti-conversion bill assurance welcomed by Church
The Church of North India has welcomed assurances from the governor of Rajasthan that he would block an anti-conversion bill passed by the state legislature.
Speaking at All Saints Cathedral in Ajmer, Gov Shailendra Kumar Singh said India's secular government respected "all religions equally." Last month the Hindu nationalist BJP party, which controls the Rajasthan state assembly, passed a bill over the protests of the opposition Congress Party prohibiting conversions to Christianity by "use of force, allurement or fraudulent means." Drawing from the Bhagavad Gita, Gov Singh noted that the Hindu god Krishna had told Prince Arjuna that all are equal in society, and that one's true "dharma," or right way of living, is to fulfil one's responsibilities.
Religious Intelligence, Apr.19

When Muslims become Christians
There's a widespread belief that the penalty for leaving Islam is death - hence, perhaps, the killing of a British teacher last week. Ziya Meral's parents disowned him when he converted from Islam to Christianity. "They said 'go away, you're not our son.' They told people I died in an accident rather than having the shame of their son leaving Islam."
The Qur'an does not say anything about punishing apostates and that its proponents use two Hadiths instead to support their view.
Usama Hassan, a Cambridge-educated scientist and an imam, goes further and says the classical scholars were wrong in how they interpreted the Quran. He is unequivocal in denouncing those who advocate the death penalty.
"I believe the classical law of apostasy in Islam is wrong and based on a misunderstanding of the original sources, because the Quran and Hadith don't actually talk about a death penalty for apostasy."
BBC News, Apr.21,

Judeo-Islamic-Christian continuum
Aman De Sondy recommends checking out 'The Spanish House', a new novella by Suhayl Saadi ,set between London and Spain and between the early 1970s and the year 2020. Song, dance, history and lunacy all feature, and there are whiffs of Sepharad and Al Andalus - the Judeo-Islamic-Christian continuum from which much that defines Spain emerged. It's in a biannual ezine called, 'TheBottle Imp', which is a publication of the Association for Scottish Literary Studies based at the University of Glasgow.  You can download the novella as a pdf file (pdf, 659 Kb)

Obstructions to Bridge Building

British headteacher shot dead in Somalia in raid on school by Islamist militia
A British headteacher who was shot dead in Somalia by Islamist insurgents may have been targeted because he was a Christian convert, his wife said yesterday.  Daud Hassan Ali, 64, was killed outside the Hiran community education project English school in Beledweyne in central Somalia late on Sunday night. His widow is quoted saying, "Establishing the school had been Ali's lifelong dream. He always wanted to go back to Somalia and do something for his own people. He was a great optimist and saw good things in everything - I will continue to pray for the people of Somalia and eventually some good may come out of this."
The Guardian, Apr. 15

Freedom for apostates from Islam
"I believe that the classical law of apostasy in Islam is wrong and based on a misunderstanding" - Usama Hassan
"As a convert from Islam myself, part of my life's work has been to seek to see this most cruel of laws removed from Islam, and to see that Christians like myself are given freedom to choose and believe without facing persecution and possibly death. It is good to hear imams like Usama Hassan stating clearly that he believes the classical law of apostasy in Islam is wrong and denouncing those who advocate the death penalty. Finally the world is waking up to this outrage and injustice. Please pray with me that the issue, once raised, will not be forgotten again. Pray that we shall see a real move towards ensuring freedom of conscience for all, even those who are born Muslims.
Dr Patrick Sookhdeo (International Director, Barnabas Fund)
Barnabas Fund, Apr. 21
Islamic Teaching on the Consequences of Apostasy from Islam
Barnabas Fund, July 3, 2007

Teacher accuses Islamic school of racism
A former teacher at an Islamic school, who alleged that it taught an offensive and racist view of non-Muslims, has been awarded £70,000 by an employment tribunal after winning his case for unfair dismissal.
Colin Cook told the tribunal in Watford that pupils were taught from Arabic books that likened Jews and Christians to "monkeys" and "pigs" at The King Fahad Academy, which is funded and run by the Saudi Arabian Government.  The tribunal ruled that Mr Cook, a British Muslim, was unfairly dismissed from his £36,000-a-year post at the school in Acton, West London, in December 2006 after blowing the whistle on systematic cheating at a GCSE exam. It rejected his claim that the school discriminated against him on racial grounds.
Mr Cook told the hearing that after leaving the school another member of staff gave him extracts from an Arabic textbook, which encouraged students to believe that all religions other than Islam were worthless. The school denied ever teaching any form of racial hatred and insisted that the offending passages in the books were "misinterpreted" and were never used in class.
The Times, Apr.15

Following comments about the last issue, I have restricted the size for this month.  I hope I've not omitted anything of import!

_______________________________________________________________________

The next issue of The Bridge will be published on June 10, 2008. 
Items for inclusion should reach me by June 9.

Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of CAIRS unless otherwise specifically stated.  Most news items are links to other news sources, for which CAIRS accepts no liability for accuracy.

We take reasonable precautions to check for viruses but you are strongly recommended to carry out your own checks as CAIRS will not take responsibility for any damage caused as a result of virus infection.

Andrew Sarle
CAIRS Inter Faith Education Officer

andrew@cairs.org.uk
01259 222 364
0772 456 8259
www.cairs.org.uk

ACTS Inglewood Alloa FK10 2HU

CAIRS is an agency associated with Action of Churches Together in Scotland, registered charity number SC000295