News RSS Feed


Bishop backs mosque's call to prayer

7:30am Friday 11th January 2008

comment Comments (95)   Have your say »

By Fran Bardsley »

THE BISHOP of Oxford has rejected another senior clergyman's fears that piping out the call to prayer in East Oxford could create a "no-go area" for non-Muslims.

The Rt Rev John Pritchard backed plans for the call to prayer in Oxford - rejecting controversial comments made by the Anglican church's only Asian bishop, the Rt Rev Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, of Rochester.

Bishop Michael had said that attempts were being made to impose an "Islamic character" on communities, creating "no-go areas" where people of different faiths would find it hard to live and work.

But Bishop John said: "I want to distance myself from what the Bishop of Rochester has said.

"I have been with the House of Bishops for the past three days and we agreed there are no no-go areas in this country that we are aware of, and that in all parts of the country there are good inter-faith relationships developing."

In November, it emerged that leaders at Oxford's Central Mosque, in Manzil Way, were considering asking for planning permission to issue the call to prayer from the mosque - and Bishop John said he was "very happy" with the move.

He said: "I believe we have good relationships with the Muslim community here in Oxford and I am personally very happy for the mosque to call the faithful to prayer in East Oxford.

"Faith is a very important factor in the lives of 80 per cent of the world's population and a public expression of that faith is both natural and reasonable."

Bishop John said practical issues over the number of times the call went out, the volume and whether a trial period would be required would need to be ironed out, but said in principle it was "entirely reasonable".

He said: "It is good that we should be reminded of the faithfulness of many members of the community.

"It is natural that Muslim communities will gather in a particular area and what matters is that we demonstrate the kind of respect that is the basis of any civilised society."

Bishop John added: "I would say to anyone who has concerns about the call to prayer to relax and enjoy our community diversity and be as respectful to others as you would hope they would be respectful to you."

Bishop John said his role meant he acted as a community leader for all faiths, and believed he was respected as such by the Muslim community as by his own.

He added that it was his duty to open the door for all faiths to be part of the public arena. He continued: "I sympathise with those who find any kind of expression of public faith intrusive, but I think part of being part of a tolerant society is saying, 'I don't agree with this but I accept it as part of my responsibility as being part of a diverse community'."

Bishop Michael wrote in the Sunday Telegraph this weekend that non-Muslims faced a hostile relationship in places dominated by the ideology of Islamic radicals.

He argued: "Attempts have been made to impose an 'Islamic' character on certain areas, for example, by insisting on artificial amplification for Adhan.

"Such amplification was, of course, unknown throughout most of history and its use raises all sorts of questions about noise levels and whether non-Muslims wish to be told the creed of a particular faith five times a day on the loudspeaker."

He added: "There has been a worldwide resurgence of the ideology of Islamic extremism.

"One of the results of this has been to further alienate the young from the nation in which they were growing up and also to turn already separate communities into no-go areas where adherence to this ideology has become a mark of acceptability."

Sardar Rana, a spokesman for Oxford Central Mosque, has also attacked Bishop Michael's claims, and said the bishop should be more "broad-minded".

He said: "It will not create a no-go area. We welcome every religion and we respect other people.

"I am 100 per cent sure people will like it when they hear the holy verses on the loudspeaker. We are not saying anything bad."


Your Say YourOxford

Tracy, Oxford says...
3:53pm Thu 10 Jan 08

Why should Oxford and even Britain be more "broad-minded", Britain was and should be a christian country again, we bow to much to ethnic cultures, before long the white christian will be the minority in what was once a country united in faith and culture we are now governed to too much political correctness.

J, east oxford says...
4:02pm Thu 10 Jan 08

Faith is outdated, and if people wish to practice a faith, they should do so in private, and not flaunt it in other people's faces.

Saying that, the UK is originally a christian country, and at least church bells are somewhat cheerful and tuneful!


The call to prayer noise, however, is hideous!! As a resident of east oxford, I will tolerate the church bells in the name of tradition, but do NOT want to listen to a ghastly screaching sound!

Dave, Kidlington says...
4:39pm Thu 10 Jan 08

J wrote:
Faith is outdated, and if people wish to practice a faith, they should do so in private, and not flaunt it in other people's faces. Saying that, the UK is originally a christian country, and at least church bells are somewhat cheerful and tuneful! The call to prayer noise, however, is hideous!! As a resident of east oxford, I will tolerate the church bells in the name of tradition, but do NOT want to listen to a ghastly screaching sound!
Originally it was a pagan country. So-called Christian festivals like Christmas and Easter were old pagan seasonal festivals that were hijacked by the Christian church.

Religion is just a conspiracy to stop poor people killing rich people anyway.

DanOxford, Oxford says...
5:08pm Thu 10 Jan 08

'Representative of one intolerant and out of date belief system that has accrued vast amounts of money and power based on fear says we have nothing to fear from the spread of another set of intolerant and plagiarised fairy tales'. I'm glad that's sorted out then!

Just in case anyone was left in any way unsure as to the 'Christian' church's views on the intolerance of others, remember the support given to the fatwa on Salman Rushdie, the condemnation of the Dutch 'Mohammad' cartoonists and the fact that the only Nazi ever excommunicated was Goebbels- and that was for marrying a Protestant- not for engineering the destruction of the Jews, homosexuals, the disabled...

ALL of these crackpots should be consigned to the dustbin of history- not given some sort of hushed 'respect' and reverence.

Never trust a man in a dress! As my gran would tell me!

Apeasement, Oxford says...
5:15pm Thu 10 Jan 08

This is the timetable:
1 Calls upped to three five times a day and volume increased.
2 Alcohol prohibited in shops and bars nearby on Friday's.
3 Butchers's shop opposite mosque told to stop selling pork products.
Shall I continue?

Trevtt, BFD says...
6:24pm Thu 10 Jan 08

I think I must be fortunate to live in one of the few remaining enclaves of what was once great Britain. Minarets not welcome here, that’s for sure. The time is surely upon us, when even those with no interest in politics call ‘time’ on this invasion and takeover by stealth. I use the word stealth in its loosest possible sense because it’s not like anyone with half a brain, or partially sighted, or hard of hearing, or a combination of all three (lib/lab/con/eu/ken/


boris etc supporters comes to mind here) could fail to notice something sinister going down in this land. Have they put something in the water to make people still support this lot? I think for some, they are so blind, deaf and dumb - and yes, thick, they will carry on voting for what their ‘mum or dad voted for’ until the day comes that women are told to cover up when going out, men have to sport a full set of whiskers, girls are told to stay at home while the boys go to school - renamed madrasas.

Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster says...
6:35pm Thu 10 Jan 08

The Rt Rev Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester recently raised some very pertinent points about Muslim enclaves becoming no-go areas for others. It is unsurprising that the left-liberal apologists have castigated him for doing so and equally as unsurprising that the Bishop of Oxford has jumped on the bandwagon with his PC guilt-ridden chums.
This is a further demonstration of the weakness of our ruling classes in the face of forced change by an alien culture.
The people of these Islands have spent thousands of years evolving into the most robust democracy on Earth. NuLabour, and the parasitic infestation that it brought along with it in the form of political correctness, has spent the last decade intent on destroying our rights and heritage.
Having worked in several Islamic states I can vouch for the fact that the call to prayer is an irritating dirge that will detract from the character of one of England’s oldest and most famous cities and send out a dangerous message to the more extreme elements within the Muslim community.
Those that claim that we should tolerate such moves because we are a multicultural society are very wrong. Multi-culturalism is nothing more than a left-liberal utopian myth. It does not, has not and never will exist in reality in a country with demographics such as ours. It is a social engineering propaganda tool that has seriously disenfranchised the overwhelming majority of people in this country.
The leaders of many minority groups in the UK have had the good sense to see it for what it is, which is why Chinese, Hindu, Sikh and many other communities seldom make it into the news for the same reasons that Muslims do, and certainly not for trying to maim and kill their fellow Britons in the name of their Gods.
These groups have recognised that the it is in their own best interest to integrate with society at large and practice their own cultural traditions without demanding that the rest of us join them, or stop practicing our own.
Islam, on the other hand, is not a tolerant religion. The most fundamental of its adherents are hell bent on creating a new global caliphate with the rest of them happy to tag along, aided and abetted by our spineless PC politicians.
This is the same reason that has allowed the proliferation of black gun crime, which has created its own no-go areas. "Racism paranoia" has prevented left-liberal government and their politicised police from getting to grips with this rising problem.

J, east oxford says...
6:38pm Thu 10 Jan 08

Originally it was a pagan country. So-called Christian festivals like Christmas and Easter were old pagan seasonal festivals that were hijacked by the Christian church.


yup, 100% true! Otherwise, as an atheist, I wouldn't bother celebrating these pagan festivals!

Religion is just a conspiracy to stop poor people killing rich people anyway.


Agree 100%! What better way to control the masses than to put the fear of an unknown force and fate into people!

Tq, says...
6:42pm Thu 10 Jan 08

I think Christians in this country needs to take a step back and start reading their bible again. They'll find a lot in there about tolerance and its importance.

One of the most amusing things about this all is that essentially, Muslims worship the same god Christians do. It wouldn't surprise me if half of the ignorant Christian population thought they worshiped Muhammad as their god, that would be wrong. He was just a prophet, the final and most influential one.

As a Christian myself i would applaud any call to prayer as a good effort to integrate mankind into greater acceptance of each other.

Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster says...
6:57pm Thu 10 Jan 08

Tq, whilsit I understand that tolerance and acceptance is a fundamental tenet of your creed, I'm afraid that you are being rather naive.
Fundamentalist Muslims understand this only as weakness. Their concept of integration is somewhat different than ours. In their view the only acceptable transition is assimilation; that is to say, our assimilation into their culture and religion.
The naive and apathetic of Britain and other Western democracies really do need to get their collective heads around this concept.

DanOxford, Oxford says...
7:12pm Thu 10 Jan 08

I've said it before, I'll say it again...

how many churches in Saudi Arabia? None.

Why is this? because the open worship of any other religion is punishable by... a slap on the wrists? A small fine? A telling off? What does the 'religion of peace and understanding' decree? Oh- that would be death then.

Extremist literature found at Oxford Mosque, Azad University accused of bullying and discrimination when a female administrator refused to help in obtaining illegal visas...

Never mind waiting for the call to prayer- where do I sign up?!!

L Kelly, London says...
7:18pm Thu 10 Jan 08

This IS my country, and I didn't say anyone could give it away, so why are there some people giving it away? Is it THEIRS?!!! This country belongs to the indiginous Whites, and we have NOT said that we wnt to give it away! In fact, we are ALL OBVIOUSLY trying to KEEP it!!!!

john, says...
7:27pm Thu 10 Jan 08

Tq wrote:
I think Christians in this country needs to take a step back and start reading their bible again. They\'ll find a lot in there about tolerance and its importance.

One of the most amusing things about this all is that essentially, Muslims worship the same god Christians do. It wouldn\'t surprise me if half of the ignorant Christian population thought they worshiped Muhammad as their god, that would be wrong. He was just a prophet, the final and most influential one.

As a Christian myself i would applaud any call to prayer as a good effort to integrate mankind into greater acceptance of each other.
Is that right? In that case they must know the God they worship had a son called Jesus Christ.

Stephanie Anderson, Raleigh, NC USA says...
7:34pm Thu 10 Jan 08

From the article:
"whether non-Muslims wish to be told the creed of a particular faith five times a day on the loudspeaker."

This is exactly right. Who wants to hear "there is no God but Allah and Muhammed is his prophet" 5 times a day on a loudspeaker, and furthermore, why do Muslims feels the need to do so? They know when their prayer times are. The rest of us don't need to know. Stay out of my living room, my life, my yard, my childrens' schools, and my workplace Islam! Your beliefs are just that YOUR beliefs, not mine and I do not wish to have them forced upon me or my children!

STOP POLITICAL CORRECTNESS, and make decisions based on merit says...
8:57pm Thu 10 Jan 08

Stephanie Anderson wrote:
From the article: "whether non-Muslims wish to be told the creed of a particular faith five times a day on the loudspeaker." This is exactly right. Who wants to hear "there is no God but Allah and Muhammed is his prophet" 5 times a day on a loudspeaker, and furthermore, why do Muslims feels the need to do so? They know when their prayer times are. The rest of us don't need to know. Stay out of my living room, my life, my yard, my childrens' schools, and my workplace Islam! Your beliefs are just that YOUR beliefs, not mine and I do not wish to have them forced upon me or my children!
SPOT ON

ITS OK FOR MUSLIMS TO ENFORCE THEIR VIEWS

BUT FOR A NON MUSLIM TO ENFORCE HIS VIEWS IS RACIST

sort it out oxford city council - its evident the people of oxord do not want to have one groups views enforced on to them 5 times a day

J, Oxford says...
9:56pm Thu 10 Jan 08

DanOxford wrote:
I've said it before, I'll say it again...

how many churches in Saudi Arabia? None.

Why is this? because the open worship of any other religion is punishable by... a slap on the wrists? A small fine? A telling off? What does the 'religion of peace and understanding' decree? Oh- that would be death then.

Extremist literature found at Oxford Mosque, Azad University accused of bullying and discrimination when a female administrator refused to help in obtaining illegal visas...

Never mind waiting for the call to prayer- where do I sign up?!!
That's because the Christian religion is a lot more tolerant that than the Islamic faith.

By all means have your churches and mosques, but PLEASE keep your religion to yourself, and don't flaunt it infront of of those of us that are content with a life without religion! I know how to be a good person without following some mythical rules and regulations!

Calls to prayer is a step too far (bells I accept, given that it's a physical task that alot of people enjoy, religious or not), so it shouldn't be allowed.

The covering of the face should also be banned. It is a sign of cowardice and is insulting to honest people. Even motorcyclists have the decency to remove their helmets whilst in shops! I am a tolerant person, but I will NOT talk to a person who has their face covered. It is RUDE and insulting.

gabe, dublin says...
12:56am Fri 11 Jan 08

I have a solution.Lets ask the oxford mullah if he has any objections for churches in the area blasting out on loudspeakers 5 time a day,everyday that 'Jesus is the only God and there are no other Gods' before Him .

LW, Oxford says...
2:35am Fri 11 Jan 08

Since the tradition of the call to prayer began in an age before clocks existed, and persisted because once invented they were certainly not affordable by individuals (since they were the size of a Wardrobe and took many months to build), does not the fact that one can buy a digital watch for between five and eight quid make the call to prayer unnecessary? So to speak: if it's one's salvation on the line shouldn't that eight quid be seen as a worthwhile investment?

The fact is that the call to prayer isn't necessary-- proved by the fact that the mosque functions perfectly well without it now.

sheik yer'mami, Mecca says...
4:13am Fri 11 Jan 08

The churches in Iraq are being bombed by the 'religion of peace' and the Christians are under siege wherever the soldiers of Allah got the upper hand. This dim-witted Bishop should be hanged from his bell-tower for treason.

Kurt Bronson, USA says...
5:02am Fri 11 Jan 08

What is it about the character of some Western elites who think that there is some sort of virtue in not defending what is yours?

Until Christians can erect a Cathedral in the city center of Mecca and worship there freely, free-thinkers can safely discuss Mohammed as a mere man and contemplate non-divine origins of his teachings--in public settings in Medina, and Hindus can hold their festivals publicly in Pakistan, than Islam must properly be considered and ideology of conquest, and denied an equal public place in civilized nations until it accords like equality in it's own realms.

To do otherwise is to provide them the cord with which they will bind us in bondage as this ideology has so many over the centuries. They conquered half of Christiandom a thousand years ago--lets not give them the rest.

Aiddy, says...
5:23am Fri 11 Jan 08

Rt Rev John Pritchard your a fool a deluded one, resign your post traitor!

Tq, says...
8:44am Fri 11 Jan 08

Keith Lonsdale wrote:
Tq, whilsit I understand that tolerance and acceptance is a fundamental tenet of your creed, I\'m afraid that you are being rather naive.
Fundamentalist Muslims understand this only as weakness. Their concept of integration is somewhat different than ours. In their view the only acceptable transition is assimilation; that is to say, our assimilation into their culture and religion.
The naive and apathetic of Britain and other Western democracies really do need to get their collective heads around this concept.
Well i believe you do need a dear sight large amount of tolerance to survive in the UK to begin with, by doing a call to prayer i really do doubt that any of Oxfords Christian population is going to suddenly become Muslim. When the Church bells stop ringing you can start complaining that the integration has gone to far.

"Is that right? In that case they must know the God they worship had a son called Jesus Christ."-john on 7:27pm Thu 10 Jan 08
Surprisingly enough they don't think that Jesus was Gods son, however they do believe in Jesus's existance as a prophet... So essentially Islam is closer to Christianity than Judaism is.

dave, says...
9:06am Fri 11 Jan 08

"Faith is a very important factor in the lives of 80 per cent of the world's population and a public expression of that faith is both natural and reasonable."


what of the percentage of U.K. residents. I find it hard to believe this is as high as 80%.

British Bulldog, says...
9:26am Fri 11 Jan 08

Religion is private to an individual and should be kept private, thats the whole point of religion. Suddenly everyone is religious! What a joke this society is!

Dan Oxf, Oxf says...
9:58am Fri 11 Jan 08

Enoch Powell had the right idea. they shouldn't be here in the first place

Dan OX, Oxf says...
10:01am Fri 11 Jan 08

we England not BRITAN should have listened to Enoch Powell. they shouldn't be here in the first place.

aryan, oxford says...
10:39am Fri 11 Jan 08

i bet dan ox is the worst type of aryan, he probably has a kebab from an asian shop, probably buys his beers from the local asian shop, and probably uses transport offered by an asian man, he probably has a nice little chat with them, pretending to be thier buddy. people like dan are nothing more than puke

dan Ox, Ox says...
10:48am Fri 11 Jan 08

No mate i'm just pi**ed off with ethnic minorities coming in to my country which i have put a lot of money in to coming here and shouting the odds. and if we don't cower down and meet their demands we are labelled as rascist. we should have at least have a simple policy " these are our rules this is our country. if you don't like f*ck off" then there is no confusion

Sally, says...
11:07am Fri 11 Jan 08

dan Ox wrote:
No mate i'm just pi**ed off with ethnic minorities coming in to my country which i have put a lot of money in to coming here and shouting the odds. and if we don't cower down and meet their demands we are labelled as rascist. we should have at least have a simple policy " these are our rules this is our country. if you don't like f*ck off" then there is no confusion
But these ethnic minorities as you keep spouting are mostly Bristish born and have as much to be here as you.
I hope if you have children you don't pass your views on to them

J, oxford says...
11:11am Fri 11 Jan 08

dan Ox wrote:
No mate i'm just pi**ed off with ethnic minorities coming in to my country which i have put a lot of money in to coming here and shouting the odds. and if we don't cower down and meet their demands we are labelled as rascist. we should have at least have a simple policy " these are our rules this is our country. if you don't like f*ck off" then there is no confusion
Agree.

Muslims should be grateful that they were allowed to build their mosques in a christian country. Under no circumstances should they be allowed the call to prayer.

If they do get permission, then perhaps we can pay the tree demonstratin guy (if he's finished) to go throw pork sausages at the mosque 5 times a day in protest?




(that's a joke btw, for anyone oversensitive who might not get it!)

J, oxford says...
11:18am Fri 11 Jan 08

Sally wrote:
dan Ox wrote: No mate i'm just pi**ed off with ethnic minorities coming in to my country which i have put a lot of money in to coming here and shouting the odds. and if we don't cower down and meet their demands we are labelled as rascist. we should have at least have a simple policy " these are our rules this is our country. if you don't like f*ck off" then there is no confusion
But these ethnic minorities as you keep spouting are mostly Bristish born and have as much to be here as you. I hope if you have children you don't pass your views on to them
SO what next, sharia law in the UK?

I'm sure you wouldn't be too keen if your daughters were forced to cover themselves head to toe and treated as lower class citizens.

British born or not, religion is a private affair that people should keep to themselves. They should live by the rules and laws of the government, and religion should not affect their daily life other than on a personal level.

Lloyd, Oxford says...
11:26am Fri 11 Jan 08

I work near Manzil Way and I do not want to hear the call to prayer ringing out every day. On a wider note, the worship of God, especially where sound is concerned, should not be forced on anybody.

Prof. A F Fort, Oxford says...
11:51am Fri 11 Jan 08

I think Mr John Pritchard (why r.rev?) should stick to his own beliefs and not be a PC for the Muslims

DanOxford, Oxford says...
12:12pm Fri 11 Jan 08

Here's a simple tip for posting if you can't really understand the points made and are not very good at producing a counter argument based on reason and evidence:

Simply post anonymously, or better still, impersonate a previous poster, and attempt to simplify everything down to callling anyone you disagree with a racist, bigot or BNP member.

It's so much simpler and allows people who would not otherwise be able to participate on the grounds of limited intelligence/ education/ maturity.

Ed, Oxford says...
12:25pm Fri 11 Jan 08

Could this be the straw that breaks the camel's back?

Maybe Oxford will be the first place to fight back and reclaim our country. Can you imagine the call to prayer EVERY morning, waking EVERYONE up? I for one will take a few pot shots at the loudspeaker (with stones, as is the Muslim way!) to shut it up.

Why doesn't someone with a big speaker system try and emulate the call to prayer now? Do it at the right time of day, and see how many people complain. Then you know where you stand. When OCC get 1000s of noise complaints, they know they can't allow it!

John, says...
12:37pm Fri 11 Jan 08

Tq wrote:
Keith Lonsdale wrote:
Tq, whilsit I understand that tolerance and acceptance is a fundamental tenet of your creed, I\'m afraid that you are being rather naive.
Fundamentalist Muslims understand this only as weakness. Their concept of integration is somewhat different than ours. In their view the only acceptable transition is assimilation; that is to say, our assimilation into their culture and religion.
The naive and apathetic of Britain and other Western democracies really do need to get their collective heads around this concept.
Well i believe you do need a dear sight large amount of tolerance to survive in the UK to begin with, by doing a call to prayer i really do doubt that any of Oxfords Christian population is going to suddenly become Muslim. When the Church bells stop ringing you can start complaining that the integration has gone to far.

"Is that right? In that case they must know the God they worship had a son called Jesus Christ."-john on 7:27pm Thu 10 Jan 08
Surprisingly enough they don't think that Jesus was Gods son, however they do believe in Jesus's existance as a prophet... So essentially Islam is closer to Christianity than Judaism is.
Point being that they do not worship the same God which is what the original poster stated..

Bex, OXON says...
12:48pm Fri 11 Jan 08

Tq.....not Tarquin??..or is it?...(if it is then this guy is in full support of that muppet up the tree in Bonn Square..)enough said!!

Richard, Oxford says...
12:50pm Fri 11 Jan 08

Sirs.
I am gay :I would find it incredibly offensive to hear a regular call to worship a God, for a religion which actively condemns my sexuality. At least churches only ring bells, and I can step into a church anywhere in the country without persecution. I have no wish to walk down the Cowley Road hearing calls to Allah. It would just be an audible reminder of oppression intruding upon my thoughts.

CB, Abingdon says...
1:06pm Fri 11 Jan 08

In Abingdon a local church refurbished its bells, so the full range rang. Following complaints from a few locals the bell tower had to be bricked up with sound deadening blocks!!!!!.

Kurt Bronson, USA says...
1:13pm Fri 11 Jan 08

If this goes through, how about collecting funds to set up a counterpoint loudspeaker across the street that follows the call to prayer with an announcement that Mohammed was a fraud and Islam is a cult calling on people to think for themselves. Sort of "deprogramming".

DanOxford, Oxford says...
1:36pm Fri 11 Jan 08

Richard wrote:
Sirs. I am gay :I would find it incredibly offensive to hear a regular call to worship a God, for a religion which actively condemns my sexuality. At least churches only ring bells, and I can step into a church anywhere in the country without persecution. I have no wish to walk down the Cowley Road hearing calls to Allah. It would just be an audible reminder of oppression intruding upon my thoughts.
Richard- although I am not myself gay, I am 'intolerant' 'racist' and a 'bigot' for objecting to this call to prayer PRECISELY because I feel that it is symbolic of a belief system that is INHERENTLY sexist, intolerant, homophobic and discriminatory.

This exemplifies the moral bankruptcy of the predominantly white, leftist 'liberals' who attack any white, English working person who dares to oppose the real enemies of freedom, democracy, liberty, true 'diversity' and balanced fairness.

Such is the effectiveness of NuLabour's failed experiments in politically correct multiculturalism that have led to this Country breaking down socially.

The true irony is that the criminals, mullahs and other anti-social elements just sit back as the turkeys vote for Christmas and squawk at any voice of caution.

Trev, BFD says...
2:47pm Fri 11 Jan 08

J wrote:
Sally wrote:
dan Ox wrote: No mate i\'m just pi**ed off with ethnic minorities coming in to my country which i have put a lot of money in to coming here and shouting the odds. and if we don\'t cower down and meet their demands we are labelled as rascist. we should have at least have a simple policy \" these are our rules this is our country. if you don\'t like f*ck off\" then there is no confusion
But these ethnic minorities as you keep spouting are mostly Bristish born and have as much to be here as you. I hope if you have children you don\'t pass your views on to them
SO what next, sharia law in the UK?

I\'m sure you wouldn\'t be too keen if your daughters were forced to cover themselves head to toe and treated as lower class citizens.

British born or not, religion is a private affair that people should keep to themselves. They should live by the rules and laws of the government, and religion should not affect their daily life other than on a personal level.
Sharia law is already being practiced in many parts of West Yorkshire. Take Dewsbury for instance, Muslims in this area are practicing it and the government won't do anything to stop it.

Look at this story, another area which is seeing Sharia Law in action.

http://news.bbc.co.u

k/1/hi/england/merse

yside/7182887.stm

boris, oxford says...
2:53pm Fri 11 Jan 08

Nothing surprises me anymore in this stupid country. Iam sick of immigrants telling us their "rights" and imposing their culture on us, what next, banning all pork and stopping all girls attending school i guess. This sham of a so called religion is nothing more than a backward cult and should be banned in this country. Good luck to all the people in divinty road (which will be renamed Allah avenue) as their woken each morning with that crap coming out, if things continue the way they are i can see civil war coming and it might be a good thing too.

DanOxford, Oxford says...
3:28pm Fri 11 Jan 08

Boris- you don't have to go as far as Liverpool to see an example of an 'honour' killing- three Bangaldeshi muslims killed an Iranian muslim in Rose Hill (almost within earshot of the Cowley Road mosque...)in 2004.

And before anyone says there are Christain/ atheist/ vegetarian etc murderers, the point is that both murders were due to the belief system rooted in Islam held by the killers- much as suicide bombing cannot be separated from the concept of Jihad.

http://www.telegraph
.co.uk/news/main.jht
ml?xml=/news/2005/11
/04/uhonour.xml&sShe
et=/portal/2005/11/0
4/ixportaltop.html

George, Washington DC says...
4:09pm Fri 11 Jan 08

Islam is proving to be a terrorist religion and their followers are happy to break the law of the land for their faith.

We, as law-abiding citizens cannot allow this, just as we cannot allow our culture and way of life to be changed beyond recognition by the beliefs of the few.

There will be NO call to prayer from Cowley Road mosque. We are not a Muslim country, never have been, and if I have to fight, it never will be.

It's time we got a backbone and starting being British again. This country didn't have an empire because we sat back and did nothing. We didn't win two world wars because we sat back and did nothing. We didn't stop the Argentinians invading our land because we sat back and did nothing.

So come out on the streets, make your voice heard. Yes you might get arrested, but the fight is bigger than a bit of paper. It's about OUR lives and OUR country.

Write to your MP, and remind them that unless they stop this nonsense, they can count on losing your vote next time around. If enough people do it, they WILL take notice.

FIGHT BACK

Paul O, Oxford says...
4:49pm Fri 11 Jan 08

How decent of the Bishop of Oxford to decide that people in East Oxford should listen to a call to prayer several times a day. Would he be quite so relaxed about it if he had to listen to it?

Johhny, Oxford says...
5:08pm Fri 11 Jan 08

The Rev John Pritchard is a traitor to his religion , If this call to prayer is bellowed out by somme medieval moon worshiping death cult , then we should boycot all the buisnesses in the Cowley road , and by that I mean Asian businesses , Boycott Asian owned mini cabs and Taxis , hit them in the pockets .

Pork Chop, says...
5:12pm Fri 11 Jan 08

quote
"I have been with the House of Bishops for the past three days and we agreed there are no no-go areas in this country that we are aware of, and that in all parts of the country there are good inter-faith relationships developing."


quote
Obviously not a well travelled man - take of you Dog Collar Mr Pilchard and walk around predominant asian areas in The North of England and see how long you last , what a ****

Iftikhar, Forest Gate London says...
6:02pm Fri 11 Jan 08

Salaam

Muslims are economic migrant ,they are not economic slaves. They must
preserve their faith, culture and languages for the future survival of their young generations as Muslims.

Bilingual Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental periods. State schools with monolingual non-Muslim teachers are not capable of teaching Standard Englsih to bilingual children. They need to be well versed in Standard English to follow the National urriclulm and go for higher studies and research to serve humanity. They need to be well versed in Arabic, Urdu and other community languages to keep in touch with their cultural roots and enjoy the beauty of their literature and poetry.

Muslim parents do not want their children to be integrated into the barbarity of British culture of institutional racism, binge drinking, drug addiction, anti-social behaviour, teenage pregnancies and abortions.

Farouk Patel, Chepstow says...
6:15pm Fri 11 Jan 08

Having read through all the posts here over the objections towards allowing the call to prayer to go ahead in Oxford. Please allow me an apostate from Islam to explain why I am against this motion.
As I have already mentioned I was born into the Islamic faith and from a very early age (around 8) I knew that Islam wasn’t for me and that instead of going to the mosque (which I found bloody boring) I would rather play down the park with my fellow school friends before teatime. In doing so I used to get beaten. (I don’t mean a smack, I mean beaten black and blue) Not only did my father beat me, but the Mullah felt free to do so as well. The parents of the children who also went to the mosque did so and the their children took to name calling as I wasn’t as able as them in which to recite the Koran.(As if I wanted to in the first place)
My father used to write snick chits in which to excuse my sister and I from PE at school, however one day after my sister was found with bruises I was called to the Headmasters office and examined. We were both assigned social workers and my father was informed that child abuse was a no-no in England and that he would be taken to court if it happened again. Instead of physical abuse my father took to mental abuse and after a few months both my sister and I were taken into care. We were given over to British families who accepted that we were different and ensured that we were brought up to the dietary requirements of our so called faith. (Try eating only fish fingers, spaghetti for over 8 years)
Anyway the council took notice of the abuse that was transpiring to my sister and I and took action. The call to Prayer is but one small step in allowing certain sections of the community in which to givern themselves. What would happen today if a child found itself in the situation we found ourselves. I mean it didn’t help Shafilea Ahmed as people are becoming scared of speaking out against the mores of Islam in case they are castigated as a racist.
But the irony in my story is I am totally blanked by the Islamic community as I am an apostate, yet I am not fully accepted by the white community as I have a Muslim name. Talk about pig in the middle.
All I have to say on the subject is stop the preferential treatment afforded to Muslims in the UK and treat them as you would a white person. Only then when they realise that they are the same as us all and that faith bestows no favours in a court of law. Be it for speeding, murder or for building permission. In doing so it will remove this victim status that ethnic minorities use in which to bully their way through any obstruction in their way and hopefully stop the gravitation towards the far right which the population of the UK is finding itself moving towards as they see the views of a very small minority taking precedent over everything else.