Newsline 15 April 2016

Newsline 15 April 2016

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News, Blogs & Opinion

Inclusive schooling is part of the answer to social segregation of Muslims

News | Mon, 11th Apr 2016

The National Secular Society has warned that state support for faith-based education is fuelling the separatism that creates the "chasm" between British Muslims and the rest of the population, highlighted in a new poll on Muslim attitudes.

The ICM poll of 1000 people, conducted for a Channel 4 documentary called "What British Muslims Really Think" has triggered warnings that Muslim communities are creating a "nation within a nation".

Stephen Evans, the Society's campaigns director, said: "Any serious attempt to tackle Britain's integration problem must involve the state reconsidering its blinkered support of faith schooling. It should instead focus on a truly inclusive education system that promotes a model of shared citizenship, in which everyone's human rights are celebrated, respected and robustly protected."

The ICM poll found that 52% of British Muslims disagreed that homosexuality should be legal in the UK and 47% thought that it was unacceptable for a gay person to teach their child in school.

While 90% of respondents opposed the idea of a caliphate, 23% support "there being areas of Britain in which Sharia law is introduced instead of British law". 24% were unsure, neither opposing nor supporting, and 29% strongly opposed sharia law existing in the UK. 39% think that "wives should always obey their husbands".

18% said they sympathised with "violence against those who mock the Prophet". 5% had sympathy with people who stoned women who commit adultery and 24% sympathised with "violence organised by groups to protect their own religion".

Just less than half (49%) said they would like to "fully integrate with non-Muslims in all aspects of life", 29% said they would like integration on "most things" but there should be "separation in some areas, such as Islamic schooling and laws".

Trevor Phillips, the former chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said "the integration of Muslims will probably be the hardest task" ever faced by the UK.

He has said that the UK needs to adopt "a far more muscular approach to integration" to replace failed aspects of multicultural policies.

Phillips said that schools should not be "taken over by any single minority group" and advocated changing catchment areas to avoid ethnic and religious segregation. While only around 8% of UK Muslims live in the three local authorities with more than a 25% local Muslim population, the catchment areas of many schools lead to pupils from a Muslim background attending mono-ethnic, mono-faith schools.

Under the Government's free school initiative the number of Islamic schools directly funded by the state has more than doubled since 2011.

The National Secular Society said the poll underlined the need for a school system "that promoted integration not segregation".

Mr Evans added: "Faith schools risk ghettoising children from a very early age, dividing them by their family's religious background. Any serious effort to tackle segregation must begin here.

"In addition to publicly-funded faith schools, many children from Muslim backgrounds are left languishing in independent schools which focus on religious indoctrination and have not, until recently, faced serious inspection or scrutiny.

"There is also the problem of illegal, unregistered schools, which can inculcate separatist beliefs in children and teach bigoted, supremacist views. Local authorities must actively work to identify these schools and close them down. Too many councils are refusing to examine the problem. Government agencies and local communities need to be engaged in this urgent task.

"All children growing up in Britain should be entitled to a broad and balanced secular education – and if they were, Britain would be a better place for it. This isn't a 'magic bullet' to fix the entrenched problems that exist, but it is an obvious and tangible first step towards a cohesive, integrated Britain. Recent governments have been very negligent in putting faith schools off the table."

The ICM research was conducted between 25 April and 31 May 2015.

Muslim support for theocracy, not terrorism, is the real threat to confront

Opinion | Thu, 14th Apr 2016

The ICM poll on 'What British Muslims Really Think' shows clearly that widespread support for Islamic theocracy, not terrorism, is the real, long-term threat to British society, argues Benjamin Jones.

Much of the discussion about the "What British Muslims Really Think" ICM poll, presented for Channel 4 by Trevor Phillips, has revolved around how many British Muslims sympathise with or support terrorism – but this is far from the greatest danger.

While 4% are willing to admit to having some sympathy with suicide bombers (more than 100,000 people if the poll is perfectly representative) and only 34% would report a friend who supported terrorism overseas, the real, existential threat to any kind of cohesive society is not from violent extremism. Terrorism poses no existential threat to the Western nation state, whereas a splintered society undermines the legitimacy of the state. Unless struggled with now this situation will be insoluble.

23% of British Muslims would support the imposition of sharia law in the UK, but more than half would impose their religion on the rest of society by criminalising same-sex relationships. Nearly half think gay teachers shouldn't educate their children. 78% say there should be no right to publish images of Mohammed. As many British Muslims support the right to publish pictures of Mohammed (including non-critical, inoffensive ones) as sympathise with suicide bombers: 4%.

Muslims have an incredibly young age profile, the Muslim population is growing rapidly – nearly doubling in ten years, and Islam is passed on with a very high rate of success from parents to children. What's more, while younger Muslims are slightly less likely to want to criminalise homosexuality than older Muslims, a vast number of British Muslims are clearly still in thrall to these innately illiberal and theocratic ideas.

In 2009 a poll came out which found that there was "zero tolerance" of homosexuality among British Muslims. That poll was asking about the morality of homosexuality. It could have been hoped (however naively) that respondents held illiberal views, but wouldn't impose them on society – that they thought homosexuality morally wrong, but that they wouldn't criminalise it. But the 52% figures blows that argument out of the water and Trevor Phillips has now admitted what has been obvious to many people for years; that Islam isn't just 'another religion'.

The left-wing media have been trampling over each-other to denounce the latest poll. The Guardian used an interview with five British Muslims to argue that the poll of 1000 British Muslims was unrepresentative, and there has been endless commentary in this vein about the methodology.

If a poll of 1000 UKIP members had found majority support for criminalising homosexuality, would anybody on the left be quibbling about the methodology of the poll? If poll after poll kept suggesting that a sizeable block of UKIP's 3.8 million supporters wanted to ban homosexuality, it is inconceivable that this would not be a cause for serious concern and scrutiny. The criticism would be totally unrestrained.

Even if there was a gigantic margin of error of 20% in the ICM poll, that could still leave one-in-three supporting criminalising homosexuality. So whether the poll is perfectly accurate and transferrable to the entire British Muslim population is totally irrelevant. Whatever the exact figure, there is an extraordinary split in values, and there is a "chasm" in our society.

Most British Muslims feel British. Great. But would anybody else want to live in a Britain governed by the values and beliefs of the Muslim majority found in this poll?

The 52% figure represents a significant rejection of liberalism, and the nucleus of support for rule by religion.

The danger isn't from suicide bombers, but from this mass of support that exists for fundamentally changing what Britain means.

It has taken centuries to make Britain what it is today. All of that progress is reversible. There is nothing that ordains or guarantees progress, stability, social cohesion or order. There can be no social contract if a sizeable section of society believe the state should enforce their moral preferences.

There is no single solution to any of this. But action can be taken. Councils need to stop making excuses and start doing the work to identify illegal religious schools. Those institutions need to be shut down. Legal independent schools should face rigorous inspections. There should be no hiding place for bigotry or separatism in the independent schools sector. The Government should (at a minimum) put a moratorium in place on new state-funded faith schools.

Trevor Phillips offered some partial suggestions about breaking up ethnic segregation in schools, but why would any non-Muslim want to send their child to an Islamic faith school? Diversity cannot exist in schools designed around one religious ethos to the exclusion of all others. We cannot continue with a faith-segregated education system.

Politicians must stop paying lip-service to integration and actually start doing the things necessary to promote it.

We can't afford to be naive or unduly optimistic about the strength or influence of reforming voices within Islam: The torrent of abuse, death threats and murders faced by 'heretics' within British Islam keeps many would-be allies of this project silenced. They need the support of wider society, however it can be offered. And ex-Muslims must finally be listened to by those on the left who have ignored and silenced them.

If there is to be an 'us' versus 'them', it must not be between Muslims and non-Muslims, but the secularists of all religions and none against those who would impose Islam by violence or political means on others.

Society needs to set a much higher standard than simply 'feeling British' and being 'peaceful'. Almost all British Muslims meet this standard; yet many more live in fear of expressing more liberal views than this. This, not the battle against terrorism, is the real generational struggle.

Benjamin Jones is the communications officer of the National Secular Society. Follow him on Twitter: @BenJones1707. The views expressed in our blogs are those of the author and may not represent the views of the NSS.

NSS cautions against ‘moral panic’ over religious literacy

News | Fri, 15th Apr 2016

The National Secular Society has reiterated its support for improved religion and belief education in schools but warned that concerns over poor 'religious literacy' are being used as a Trojan horse to elevate religion's status in public life.

The warning was made in a submission to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Religious Education's enquiry into the 'importance and development of Religious Literacy'.

The APPG on RE has recently come under fire from the RE community for its decision to remove the study of non-religious worldviews from its remit – a move described by the NSS as "regressive, short-sighted and thoroughly regrettable". The former Chair of the APPG, Stephen Lloyd, has said the parliamentary group is "in danger of turning into a religious sect."

In its submission to the group's enquiry the NSS argued that non-religious worldviews, including secular and philosophical critiques are part of, not separate from, religious literacy. The Society also warned that the 'urgent need' for improved religious literacy is often overstated by those wishing to elevate the status and role of their religion in wider society.

Stephen Evans, National Secular Society Campaigns Director, commented: "The ambiguity of 'religious literacy' and the differing agendas of those promoting it render the term problematic.

"All children and young people should be entitled to a broad and balanced education about religious and non-religious worldviews. A sound knowledge of a range of beliefs and practices can only help young people to navigate their way around Britain's increasing diversity, but we reject the notion that a deep understanding of religions is a necessary pre-condition for a peaceful and tolerant society. Moral and political virtues such as civility, citizenship, tolerance and inclusivity, coupled with an awareness of and respect for human rights, will nurture a more harmonious society – and these values should be promoted throughout state education."

The NSS submission argues that one of the main drivers of good religious literacy is meaningful interaction with people of other faiths and beliefs and says the promotion of integrated and inclusive schools rather than education organised around religious identities would significantly aid the development of 'religious literacy' in children.

"The most significant step that could be taken to aid the development of religious literacy in children within the school context would be to challenge the ghettoization and religious segregation that results from state education so often being organised around religious identities," the submission argues.

The NSS also argued that the imposition of worship by law often means children worship as an act of compliance rather than as a free exercise of conscience, calling it a "wholly inappropriate" way of promoting religious literacy. The NSS has called for the APPG to recommend that this requirement is dropped.

The APPG's enquiry is assessing how Religious Literacy can be improved though a range of means including, schools, workplace training schemes, life-long learning, media and literature, sports and other leisure activities, and community forums.

Both the Chair of the APPG, Fiona Bruce MP, and education secretary Nicky Morgan are members of the Christians in Parliament group.

In Guidance issued in December 2015, Nicky Morgan said schools should teach that Britain is a Christian country and insisted schools were under no obligation to give equal air time to the teaching of religious and non-religious views and had no obligation to teach non-religious views all at Key Stage 4.

Mr Evans added; "Some people are clearly concerned about the growing indifference to Christianity in Britain and perhaps see efforts to improve religious literacy as a way of addressing that. Increasing religious diversity coupled with an overall decline in religiosity may be inducing moral panic amongst some, but that's rarely a good basis for policy making.

"Living together successfully may well require a degree of religious knowledge, but attempts to facilitate effective community engagement and social cohesion need not always be tackled through a religious prism."

Danes leaving state religion in droves to avoid church tax

News | Tue, 12th Apr 2016

The Danish Atheist Society has launched a bus advert campaign and website to show Danish citizens how to withdraw from the Church of Denmark ­and avoid the Church tax levied on members.

Danish citizens have to pay the 'Church tax' if they are affiliated with the church, and it can take up to 1.5% of their income. All baptised Danes are automatically made members of the church, making them liable for the tax, though Christian Today reports that just 2.4% of these members actually attend regularly.

To help people avoid this unfair taxation, the Danish Atheist Society has launched a bus advert campaign, and a website which helps people disaffiliate from the church and which sends the required documentation to the Church directly.

Around 3000 people have now used the website to withdraw from Denmark's established church, which will save them each around 133,000 kroner in tax (£14,200) over the course of their lifetime.

Anders Stjernholm, a spokesperson for the Danish Atheist Society, said that the group was "satisfied with [the] results so far. The bus campaign invites a discussion about faith, while the withdrawal campaign is aimed at the many Danes who have long thought about leaving the church but have not done so because it is too much trouble."

In addition to the specific church tax, all citizens fund the church indirectly, regardless of their religious affiliation, as the government gives direct financial assistance to the organisation.

However, the Church has criticised the Danish Atheist Society's campaign. Thomas Frank, Dean of the Diocese of Viborg, said: "I have nothing against campaigns that encourage discussions about faith, but providing tools for withdrawal such as Atheist Society's website is, for me, wrong and ill-mannered."

The loss of tax funds from 3,000 members is about 9 million kroner per year, equivalent to nearly £1 million in lost revenue.

NSS Campaigns Director Stephen Evans said: "It's not at all surprising that Danish citizens are cancelling their church membership. Nobody should be auto-enrolled into a religion, particularly when it comes with the imposition of a church tax to fund an institution that you may not support.

"In secular democracies churches have to learn to stand on their own feet and not rely on unwilling citizens or the state for financial support. That goes as much for the Church of England here as it does the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark."

In December 2015 thousands of Icelanders registered as members of an ancient religion based on the Sumerian gods in order to avoid a religious tax. All Icelanders must register a religious affiliation and pay a tax that funds the religious denomination to which they belong. To escape this over 1% of Iceland's population registered as Zuists, after leaders of the 'faith' pledged to redistribute the state funding they received back to the church's members.

Earlier in 2015, 200,000 Germans filed declarations renouncing their membership of the Protestant church after a change in tax laws. As in Denmark, Germans baptised in childhood automatically become members of the church and have to pay a tax to fund religious activities. Anybody who opts out of this has to pay a fee to the German government.

Muslim women fight to change misogynistic Islamic divorce law in India

News | Wed, 13th Apr 2016

Muslim women in India are campaigning to ban 'triple talak', the legally-recognised way in which a Muslim man can unilaterally divorce his wife, and they have taken their case to India's Supreme Court.

India recognises 'Muslim Personal Law' for its 170 million Muslim citizens, effectively putting into legal force elements of sharia. However many of the 'laws' which govern this area of life are uncodified, leading to widespread abuse. This includes the instant verbal divorce in which a man can immediately divorce his wife simply by saying "talaq" (divorce) three times which campaigners claim has no basis in the Quran.

One woman, Shayara Banu, faced domestic abuse from her husband, and was made to go through six abortions during their marriage. Finally her husband divorced her, with a letter stating "talaq" three times, bringing their fifteen year marriage to an end. But Banu said that ever since she received the letter she has not been allowed to see her children.

Banu took her case to the Indian Supreme Court so that it would consider whether the practice is unconstitutional.

The Indian Express reports that in response the court "has forced the government to dust off a year-old comprehensive report by a high-level expert committee, whose recommendation to ban triple talaq and polygamy has not been acted upon so far."

Banu's complaint went far beyond her own experience as a victim of triple talaq, and she also campaigns for a ban on polygamy and the custom by which a woman cannot return to her former husband unless she first consummates another marriage with another man.

Zakia Soman, co-founder of the Indian Muslim Women's Movement, said that "Ordinary Muslim women have suffered for too long and they demand immediate stopping of this practice. They are knocking at the doors of the courts seeking help in making this long overdue correction."

She added that the "practice is not legal in Muslim countries worldwide."

An academic study of triple talaq which collected experiences from women affected noted the "startling" ease with which men could divorce their wives, including by text.

"In many cases," the study said, "the woman is informed of being divorced while she is outside her home, she is thus unable to go back to her husband's home to retrieve her belongings, in effect leaving her destitute. The situation is further aggravated if she has no maternal family to help her."

NSS Speaks Out

The Economist quoted us on the case of an NHS worker disciplined for religiously harassing a junior colleague. The NSS has argued that the case has been misrepresented in the media and the worker in question, Victoria Wasteney, exhibited a pattern of unacceptable behaviour. Our analysis of the case was also referenced by Jon Gaunt on Talk 2 Me Radio.

This week Campaigns Director Stephen Evans spoke on two BBC local radio stations about Channel 4's "What Do British Muslims Really Think" poll. We were also quoted in Christian Today and the Christian Times on the thousands of non-religious Danes who are cancelling their church membership to escape a church tax.