by Nick Timothy, Telegraph
The normalisation of large-scale religious assertions in our civic spaces aligns with a broader pattern of hard-edged ideological aims
The domination of public spaces is, as students of Islamism know, fundamental to the modus operandi of radical Islam. As Ed Husain, the former extremist turned scholar, says, the “total Islamisation of the public space” is an expression of power and intimidation. Islamisation, he explains, includes women in hijab, Islamist posters and open prayers.
So many were concerned when a Ramadan event in Trafalgar Square saw not only the adhan – the call to Muslim prayer – but the synchronised ritual prayer of Muslim men beside the National Gallery and the old Anglican church, St Martin-in-the-Fields.
Some MPs and commentators say public concern is misplaced. Some have even called it racist or – to use the recent invention – “Islamophobic”. They claim this exhibition of faith is no different from Trafalgar Square hosting dancing Sikhs, drinking football fans, or an Easter Passion Play.
But this is wrong. First, the adhan makes the theological claim that there is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger. That is, by definition, a repudiation of other beliefs. When proclaimed publicly, it is not just private devotion made visible; it is a declaration of dominance.
Some claim the adhan is no different from the peal of church bells, or the recital of the Nicene Creed in church. But this is wrong on three counts. First, church bells simply ring out, and do not assert any theological message or criticism of other faiths. Second, the Nicene Creed is a personal statement of faith that begins, “I believe”.
And third, even if these facts were not true, Christianity holds a different place to other religions in Britain. It is the foundation of our way of life, expressed in laws and norms and our institutional, intellectual and cultural inheritance. Expressions of Christianity here do not seek to challenge or replace anything, because our society rests upon the Christian idea.