Uk government islamic funding.

Rev Hellfire

There's an interesting article on the bbc website about the UK government funding a new body of Islamic theologians, much like the Turkish government.

While I'm sure some people may have misgivings about 'state sponsored' religions, but this is effectively what the Saudi government have been doing via their sponsorship of mosques for years.

It would be nice to see the Irish government also step up to the mark and take an active stance like the British government.

wes

I think the comparison to the Turkish system is some what inaccurate. The Turkish government control all the Sunni (Hanafi) Mosques and what is taught in schools as well. I don't think what is being proposed in the UK is the same.

hivizman

wes wrote: »

I think the comparison to the Turkish system is some what inaccurate. The Turkish government control all the Sunni (Hanafi) Mosques and what is taught in schools as well. I don't think what is being proposed in the UK is the same.

I agree - the UK proposals look like a glorified "talking shop" rather than the first stages towards establishing the "Mosque of England".

There's an article in today's issue of The Times on the issue of hijab in Turkey. This includes a few paragraphs on the Turkish Department of Islamic Affairs, which controls the mosques and employs the imams.

Interesting that the British Labour government, with its claims to be hostile to elitism, still ends up proposing that the "Board of Islamic Theologians" should be based at Oxford and Cambridge. Is this a subtle hint that they want to include people like Tariq Ramadan and Tim Winter (aka Sheikh Abdul-Hakim Murad), featured in Monday's Channel 4 documentary The Qur'an, on the Board?

hivizman

There are some more details in a British government document published yesterday with the title Preventing Violent Extremism: Next Steps for Communities, which can be downloaded here.

The Muslim Council of Britain has issued a rather sceptical response to the proposal. I can sympathise with the MCB's view that the idea of establishing "a government-approved list of theologians" for a particular religion seems rather odd for a society that claims to be secular, and it is unfortunate that the proposal has emerged from the British government's campaign to reduce what it perceives to be Islamic extremism.

However, jumping quickly to the other side of the fence, a scholarly forum that has the potential to explain and apply in today's society the principles of the second-largest religion in Britain at least deserves a chance.

wes

Nothing wrong with a talking shop to be fair. So I agree with you there.

As for it odd for a secular state to do this, well its a secular state with it own church, so that ship sailed a while ago .

panda100

Rev Hellfire wrote: »

There's an interesting article on the bbc website about the UK government funding a new body of Islamic theologians, much like the Turkish government.

It would be nice to see the Irish government also step up to the mark and take an active stance like the British government.

This is a tokenistic gesture by a goverment who doesnt know what to do with the rampant islamaphobia sweeping England and in particulalr London.
If you look to the recent elections in England you'll see a huge rise of candidiates running on a stong anti-muslim card and polling extremely well. Indeed one of the candidtes running for London mayor ran on the sole promise of opposing the building of a super Mosque in West Ham and he came 5th out of 10 candidtes!
The English goverment have only themselves to blame for this worrying increase in racism against English muslims.http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/huge-rise-in-number-of-racist-attacks-862944.html.
Their participation in the supposed 'war on Terror' stoked up huge anti-islamic feeling in traditional English people.

To me an 'active' stance is not providing a bit of funding for some academics. Its actively trying to debunk the myths that is cauing so many problems for the muslim community in England.
I have no illusion that Ireland will go the same way and the rise of Islam in this country will stir up huge divisions within society as it has done in the UK .This can already be seen by the huge opposition to a mosque on Talbot street.

hivizman

panda100 wrote: »

This is a tokenistic gesture by a goverment who doesnt know what to do with the rampant islamaphobia sweeping England and in particular London.

You're probably right that the British government doesn't have an instant solution, but even "tokenistic gestures" are surely better than nothing?

panda100 wrote: »

If you look to the recent elections in England you'll see a huge rise of candidiates running on a stong anti-muslim card and polling extremely well. Indeed one of the candidates running for London mayor ran on the sole promise of opposing the building of a super Mosque in West Ham and he came 5th out of 10 candidates!

The BNP candidate Richard Barnbrook got only 3.9% of the first preference votes, and did best in East London. He did have other policies, but he was quite openly anti-Muslim in his statement that went to all electors in London.

panda100 wrote: »

The English goverment have only themselves to blame for this worrying increase in racism against English muslims.http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/huge-rise-in-number-of-racist-attacks-862944.html.
Their participation in the supposed 'war on Terror' stoked up huge anti-islamic feeling in traditional English people.

But at the same time the opposition in Britain to the British government's involvement in the wars in/occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan has encouraged a lot of people to check out Islam and become more sympathetic. By the way, the article you link to is mainly about racist attacks, and it's difficult to work out whether dislike of Islam in Britain is basically race-related or religion-related.

panda100 wrote: »

To me an 'active' stance is not providing a bit of funding for some academics. Its actively trying to debunk the myths that is causing so many problems for the muslim community in England.
I have no illusion that Ireland will go the same way and the rise of Islam in this country will stir up huge divisions within society as it has done in the UK .This can already be seen by the huge opposition to a mosque on Talbot street.

Though I see that the mosque has been given permission to open despite this opposition.

Flamed Diving

Rev Hellfire wrote: »

There's an interesting article on the bbc website about the UK government funding a new body of Islamic theologians, much like the Turkish government.

While I'm sure some people may have misgivings about 'state sponsored' religions, but this is effectively what the Saudi government have been doing via their sponsorship of mosques for years.

It would be nice to see the Irish government also step up to the mark and take an active stance like the British government.

You may want to read article 44 of the Irish Constitution.

the_new_mr

panda100 wrote:

To me an 'active' stance is not providing a bit of funding for some academics. Its actively trying to debunk the myths that is cauing so many problems for the muslim community in England.

You have just given me an idea! God bless you. Thanks panda100