from Religion Media Centre
The Bishop of Willesden, Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy, the Church of England’s lead bishop for interfaith engagement, has said that the public iftar in Trafalgar Square “was not an act of cultural imposition, nor a signal of division. It was, rather, a moment of hospitality: an invitation to share in the breaking of the fast during Ramadan, extended by one community to the wider public.” In a statement he said it reflected “something profoundly British; the instinct to gather, to mark significant moments together, and to make space in our common life for the traditions that shape our neighbours.”
This is in response to criticism led by the shadow justice minister, Nick Timothy, that “mass ritual prayer in public places is an act of domination” and “straight out of the Islamist playbook”. A week ago, thousands assembled in Trafalgar Square as the sun set for an open iftar. There was a call to prayer and many walked to the top piazza in front of the National Gallery where prayer mats had been laid out facing Mecca and took part in communal prayer.
The bishop said public debate is entirely right, “but such conversations must be conducted with care, with accuracy, and with a commitment to the dignity of all. They must resist the temptation to single out particular groups as emblematic of wider anxieties”.
The Bishop of Leicester, Martyn Snow, said: “I live alongside many Muslims, I don’t see this as a competitive show – I see sincere people expressing their faith.”
Sir James Cleverley, shadow communities’ secretary, said on BBC One that Nick Timothy’s stance that it was an act of domination, “wouldn’t be my personal take”.
Read also: Trafalgar Square and the Limits of Religious Expression in Britain by Nervana Mahmoud – What a Ramadan gathering reveals about public space, social pressure, and lessons from Muslim-majority societies